“The hearts of the fisher community people are pained as he has mentioned their activity in a case which has nothing in common,” a statement issued by the National Fisherfolk Forum said.
National Fisherfolk Forum, a national confederation of state level fishermen groups, on Thursday demanded that Justice D Y Chandrachud of Supreme Court withdraw the ‘unparliamentary words’ referring to fisherfolk he made in the court hall a few days ago.
Condemning Justice Chandrachud’s February 5 remark, during a hearing of PILs seeking a probe into Judge Loya’s death, National Fisherfolk Forum chairperson N Ilango asked what was the necessity for the court to make a mention about fish market. Justice Chadrachud had said: “Let us not reduce the dialogue in this court to the level of fish market.”
A statement said the “utterance of the Honourable Justice is tantamount to disrespecting the total fisher communities and so highly condemnable. The hearts of the fisher community people are pained as he has mentioned their activity in a case which has nothing in common.”
Read | Don’t reduce court to fish market: Supreme Court after angry exchanges in Loya case
Questioning why the fish market activities were project in “bad colour,” Ilango’s statement said the fisher communities across India are bewildered at such a derogatory remark and demanded Justice Chandrachud “take back the unparliamentary words in the very same forum where it was uttered.”
Ilango, a traditional fisherman and a former Janata Dal MLA from Puducherry in the 90s, said he does not want to seek an apology but demanded the SC judge to withdraw his words at the court hall. Speaking to The Indian Express, he said: “It was the worst metaphor he used. I agree that there is so much noise in a fish market, because there we bargain for a pricey catch. But when you use the same to compare a noisy court scene and suggest that a fish market is worse, that is unacceptable. You may use references to a fish market but why do you call it worse? What makes you think that a fish market is worse?”