Victimised for being Dalit: Justice Karnan on contempt notice

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 11

Faced with contempt proceedings initiated by the Supreme Court, controversial Calcutta High Court Judge CS Karnan has played the Dalit card and sought to project himself as a crusader against corruption in judiciary.

In a letter written to the Supreme Court Registrar General, Justice Karnan alleged that he was being victimised as he was a Dalit and that there was an attempt to get rid of him.

In a letter written to the Supreme Court Secretary General on February 10, Justice Karnan said: “This order does not conform to logic; therefore it is not suitable for execution.”

In an unprecedented order, the Supreme Court had on February 8 issued contempt notice to Justice Karnan and ordered him to forthwith refrain from discharging any judicial or administrative functions.

A seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar had asked him to forthwith return all judicial and administrative files to the high court registrar general. The bench ordered him to remain present before it on February 13 to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.

Terming the order as “unusual”, he demanded that judicial and administrative work withdrawn from him should be restored. He said the matter should not be taken up until Chief Justice of India JS Khehar retired and suggested that, if considered urgent, it should be referred to Parliament.

Justice Karnan described the contempt proceedings against him as “erroneous” and contended that courts had no power to initiate contempt proceedings against a sitting judge of a high court. He also contended that the contempt notice violated principles of natural justice.

While repeating the allegations of corruption against many judges, he said the contempt proceedings against him were not maintainable.

During the February 8 hearing, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had said the communications sent by Justice Karnan were scurrilous and calculated to bring the judiciary into disrepute. The top court must set an example so that citizens get a message that the court would not hesitate in taking action against even its own, Rohatgi had said.

Justice Karnan, who has been courting controversy for quite some time, sent a letter to the PM on January 23 stating that “high corruption in the judiciary is still being perpetrated in an arbitrary fashion and without fear”.