Catholic bishops have urged India’s lawmakers to act against a high court judge who said the country should be ruled by the wishes of the “majority” Hindus. Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav reportedly delivered the controversial remarks on Dec. 8 at an event organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council) at the Allahabad High Court in northern Uttar Pradesh state. Yadav endorsed the extremist agenda of the clandestine outfit Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent body of the VHP and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. “The law works according to the majority. Be it in the context of the family or society. Only what benefits the welfare and happiness of the majority will be accepted,” Yadav said at the function held inside the high court’s library hall. Yadav even used the controversial term kathmullah to refer to fanatic or excessively devout Muslims during his speech. A majoritarian rule is “the opposite of everything that is intended by Article 14 and the constitution of India,” the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) noted in a statement. Article 14 guarantees the equality of all persons before the law. “The comments were made during a function organized by an outfit “that was reportedly responsible for communal violence in the past,” the bishops said in the statement on Dec. 11. The judiciary is entrusted with the duty to guard the constitution and judges are sworn in to uphold the constitution, the prelates noted. Persons who do not have “faith in our constitution and its morality should have nothing to do with the judiciary, much less be a judge,” the statement further said. The government should take action against the judge under Articles 124 and 217 of the constitution, which allow parliament to impeach high court judges. If the government fails, the opposition lawmakers should step in, the prelates demanded. The CBCI asked all parlia-mentarians to rise to the occasion to take action against Yadav. Lawyers and civil rights groups have asked India’s Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna to initiate disciplinary action against Yadav and send him packing.