Rein in rebel judge

The renegade judge, Justice C.S. Karnan, is creating the worst possible crisis for the nation’s judiciary with his continuing antics. His superiors aren’t treating him with kid gloves any longer as they were when he first started going on a rampage. In asking that he be medically examined the Supreme Court is not doing the judge any favour, and is subtly questioning whether he is of sound mind. They probably wish they could just banish him for a few months until he reaches retirement age, that isn’t far away. What the judge has done is damage the judiciary’s image by his eccentric behaviour, which had crossed the line long back. Mr Karnan’s state of mind is evident from his tit-for-tat “order” on psychological tests on the seven judges of a large bench.

None of Mr Karnan’s zany pronouncements has any legal weight as he is suspended from judicial and administrative duties and stripped of all his powers. His reluctance to undergo a medical examination will put the West Bengal police in a cleft stick. The fact remains that he’s been given a long rope already, and his continuing tirade only brings more ridicule to the judicial system, which seems clueless about how to deal with such buffoonery. The Supreme Court must act swiftly to uphold the judiciary’s majesty lest one wayward individual with a chip on his shoulder and who plays the caste card at the drop of a hat be seen to be defying the system and mocking the very principles that he’s meant to uphold as a high court judge.