Stern steps needed on wayward judge

In an unprecedented order, a seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court slapped a contempt notice on a sitting high court judge, and also directed that Justice C.S. Karnan of the Calcutta high court shall not handle any matter, judicial or administrative, and should appear in person in the court next week. This indicates the serious nature of the breaches of propriety by the judge in question, that left the bench no option but to take head on a colleague who has defamed the judicial system, mocked it at every turn and behaved in bizarre ways whenever called to order. Justice Karnan has a lot to answer for when he faces the full force of the judiciary as he stands in the dock.

History records that another judge was put through the impeachment process for corruption decades ago, but the motion failed in Parliament. Justice Karnan’s record of odd behaviour might be even more serious than that of his fellow judge from the Madras high court as it is tantamount to challenging the very system he is working in. At times, Justice Karnan embarrassed colleagues by charging them with caste bias making, for instance, the ridiculous imputation that they sat with their legs crossed in his presence. Transferred to the Calcutta high court, the judge not only passed an order staying it, but also ordered a CBI probe against the Chief Justice. Only when summoned to New Delhi by the then CJI and admonished in 2016 did he proceed to Kolkata to take up the posting, where too his record of eccentric behaviour seems to have caught up with him, as he shot off letters about his colleagues’ corruption.

The letters Justice Karnan frequently sent, as is his wont, to the highest in the land in the executive and judicial branches have been known to be scurrilous in nature. By staying within the system and airing such outrageous charges and harping on them, the judge may have often invited personal ridicule. More, he damaged the system by unjustifiable calumny out of personal spite. He may have never stopped to think how he could have become a high court judge if there really was caste discrimination in the system. As a judge, he has been accused of sloppy work, including not writing orders after reserving judgment in many cases. His record is such that he is considered a bad egg, but it took the collective will of a Constitution Bench to call him to order, perhaps a reflection of how most had stayed clear of him to avoid the embarrassment of his using the caste card freely, whenever he felt threatened or challenged. Most legal eagles believe the Supreme Court must act decisively to snip this canker of a troublesome judge.