Supreme Court judge D.Y. Chandrachud has expressed anguish over the withdrawal of a Karva Chauth advertisement featuring a same-sex couple due to “public intolerance”, saying there is a need to change the mindset of both men and women.

The judge was referring to the Dabur advertisement on Karva Chauth, a Hindu festival celebrated in northern parts of the country in which wives keep a daylong fast and perform puja for the well-being of their husbands.

The ad, showing two women celebrating the festival as a couple, was withdrawn by the firm after facing a backlash. Besides attacks from trolls on social media, Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra had issued an ultimatum to Dabur to withdraw the ad.

“Just two days ago, all of you would know of this advertisement that a company was required to pull down. It was an advertisement for Karva Chauth of a same-sex couple. It had to be withdrawn on the ground of public intolerance,” Justice Chandrachud said.

The judge was speaking at the virtual launch of a nationwide legal awareness programme — Empowerment of Women Through Legal Awareness — at Varanasi on Saturday.

The programme was being carried out by the National Legal Services Authority, headed by the senior-most judge Justice U.U. Lalit, in collaboration with National Commission for Women and UP State Legal Services Authority.

Justice Chandrachud said awareness about the rights of women needed to be created among the younger generation of men. “Awareness is not only a woman’s issue. I believe that the deprivation of rights of women if we have to find an answer to them, the origin must be in the changing of mindset, both of men and women. True freedom for women, in other words, is truly intersectional,” he said.

Mishra, the BJP minister who had ordered the Dabur ad and a mangalsutra ad by designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee to be withdrawn, appeared satisfied that both had complied but issued a threat.

“We considered it a mistake… as it was committed for the first time. If repeated, direct action will be taken without a warning,” he said.

Justice Chandrachud said there were real-life situations that revealed a great divergence between ideals of the law and the real state of the society. He added even though legislations such as the domestic violence act, prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace act had been enacted to achieve the goal of fulfilling the constitutional rights of women, the judges came across injustice against women every day.

Justice Chandrachud stated that the entitlements which the law had created for women should not become a ruse or an excuse for perpetuating the domination of men.

The apex court judge said the Constitution of India is a transformative document that seeks to remedy the structural inequalities rooted in patriarchy.

“It has become a powerful tool to secure material entitlements and provide public affirmations of dignity and equality of women,” he added.

At the event held at Varanasi, several other top court judges Justices Vikram Nath, Krishna Murari, Judge, Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Justice Rajesh Bindal were also present.