The West Bengal CID arrested former Calcutta High Court judge CS Karnan. His arrest came six days after his retirement on June 12. Karnan became the first high court judge to have retired as a fugitive. With the comfort of the government, but here is one simple man, who raised the issue of corruption among judges, is being humiliated like a nasty criminal. In 2011- Justice Karnan had written to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) alleging caste-based discrimination from his fellow judges at the Madras High Court. He further claimed that a fellow judge intentionally touched his feet at a marriage function.
In 2014, during a courtroom hearing at the Madras High Court on a PIL relating to appointment of judges, Justice Karnan alleged unfair selection of judges. He had written to the joint registrar of the RTI regarding the unfair appointment of judges and faced wrath of 20 judges of the Madras High Court for the allegations. Following this, a request was made to the then CJI Justice P Sathasivam for Karnan’s transfer from Madras High Court. In 2015, after Chief Justice of Madras High Court Sanjay Kishan Kaul formed a committee to interview lawyers for appointment as civil judges. Karnan filed a suo motu writ petition following which the division bench of the high court stays Kaul’s order. He then also threatened the Chief Justice of filing a contempt case against him for interference following the stay order. The Madras HC registry moved the Supreme Court demanding a stay on Justice Karnan’s order. Justice Karnan had written several letters to the CJI, the President and the Law Minister questioning the financial irregularities incurred by the Chief Justice and the Registrar General of the Madras High Court.
In 2016, Justice Karnan was transferred to the Calcutta High Court via order of the Supreme Court. He immediately puts a stay on his transfer order and demands the CJI file a response and not interfere in his jurisdiction. Quashing the stay order of Justice Karnan, the Supreme Court directed the Madras High Court to discharge Justice Karnan from any work and put a blanket stay on all his orders. And this year, in 2017 during demonetisation, Justice Karnan had written to Prime Minister Modi accusing 20 judges of the high court and Supreme Court of corruption and hoarding of illegal money. As a last resort, the Supreme Court filed suo motu contempt proceedings against Justice Karnan. CJI J S Khehar along with seven other senior judges issued him a notice. All judicial and administrative work of Justice Karnan was put to a standstill. Barring his practice, Justice Karnan alleged CJI and his bench of an upper caste bias and the court order as a caste-based discrimination amounting to an offence under the SC and ST (Prevention of) Atrocities Act.
Justice Karnan did not attend the contempt proceedings and demanded Rs. 14 crore as the compensatory amount from the seven-judge bench. On March 10, Supreme Court issued a bailable warrant against Justice Karnan. During the hearing, Karnan announced that he will not be challenging the court to arrest him. Then the Supreme Court questions Justice Karnan’s state of mind and requests him to furnish a medical certificate to prove that he is of sound mind. Thereafter, Karnan orders the seven-judge bench to appear at his residential court on insulting him in an open court. He further goes on to issue bailable warrants against the seven judges, orders a CBI probe on his caste-based allegations, directs the Airport Authority to restrain the seven judges from flying abroad and convicts the bench under the SC/ST Act for five years.
Justice Karnan is at present guilty of contempt and has been sentenced to six months imprisonment; restraining the media to print his statements. In the history of mankind, there were multiple instances where very learned and prominent people went into hiding to avoid persecution by the state or hoodlums. Just because he exposed the corruption of judiciary and gave them tough time, that does not mean he deserves to be hounded by law.
Anyway, my sympathy is with Justice Karnan. I failed to understand what crime he has committed except exposing rampant corruption in the judiciary. Indian judiciary is sick and needs drastic surgery as it is on deathbed and people have a very poor and pathetic opinion about it. Look at the state of affairs in the judiciary, a sitting high court judge as levelling corruption charges against his fellow judges as well as against the sitting judges of the Supreme Court. There is a dire need for the higher judiciary to introspect and change with the changing times. Or else the Justice Karnan like activists may fade away.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
