For the police of two states hoping to arrest him, Calcutta High Court judge CS Karnan has remained untraceable. But a lawyer who reached the Supreme Court to file a petition to seek recall of his six-month jail term on Thursday said he was in Chennai. On Tuesday, the court had held the judge guilty of contempt and sentenced him to six months in jail. Justice Karnan went missing soon after.
The lawyer, Mathews Nedumpara, told the top court that Justice Karnan had approached 12 lawyers to file a petition to seek a review of the court's verdict.
Chief Justice of India JS Khehar agreed to hear the petition after Mr Nedumpara told the court that the judge was in Chennai where he had signed the court documents, authorising him to represent him.
Justice Karnan will no doubt be arrested sooner or later, but what after that ? According to Markandeya Katju's Blog after spending 6 months in jail, as ordered by the Supreme Court, he will emerge as a martyr, not only for dalits in India, but also for all Tamilians.
So the Supreme Court may have upheld the 'majesty' of the Indian judiciary, but it has created a new hero .
There is widespread misconduct in the judiciary. Justice Karnan’s appointment as a judge was first recommended by Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly, who, in 2013, was accused of sexually harassing an intern. Even though a panel of SC judges confirmed the intern’s accusations, Justice Ganguly was never prosecuted. A similar complaint against Justice Swatanter Kumar, currently the chairman of the National Green Tribunal, was met with an illegal gag order by the Delhi HC that banned the press from reporting on the matter. In 2003, several judges of the Karnataka HC were caught cavorting with sex workers at a roadside resort.
It is not surprising that Supreme Court judges continue to claim that they are immune from the transparency requirements of the Right to Information Act.
In 2005, the total value of corruption in the judiciary was quantified at Rs 2,630 crore per year.
In 2010, former law minister, Shanti Bhushan, courted contempt by claiming that eight of the last 16 chief justices were corrupt. And In 2015, Justice Markandey Katju claimed that half the higher judiciary was corrupt. Shouldn’t the judges of our country be more accountable because it is said that Caesar's wife must be above suspicion?
The lawyer, Mathews Nedumpara, told the top court that Justice Karnan had approached 12 lawyers to file a petition to seek a review of the court's verdict.
Chief Justice of India JS Khehar agreed to hear the petition after Mr Nedumpara told the court that the judge was in Chennai where he had signed the court documents, authorising him to represent him.
Justice Karnan will no doubt be arrested sooner or later, but what after that ? According to Markandeya Katju's Blog after spending 6 months in jail, as ordered by the Supreme Court, he will emerge as a martyr, not only for dalits in India, but also for all Tamilians.
After the death of Jayalalitha, Tamilnadu lacks a leader. This vacuum will be filled in by Justice Karnan, who, as a martyr, will get wide support, and become another John Wilkes. He will form a new political party. This party will have massive popular support from Tamilians, and will start a massive agitation against the present proxy Tamilnadu govt. being run by remote control by a jailbird in Bangaluru.
So the Supreme Court may have upheld the 'majesty' of the Indian judiciary, but it has created a new hero .
There is widespread misconduct in the judiciary. Justice Karnan’s appointment as a judge was first recommended by Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly, who, in 2013, was accused of sexually harassing an intern. Even though a panel of SC judges confirmed the intern’s accusations, Justice Ganguly was never prosecuted. A similar complaint against Justice Swatanter Kumar, currently the chairman of the National Green Tribunal, was met with an illegal gag order by the Delhi HC that banned the press from reporting on the matter. In 2003, several judges of the Karnataka HC were caught cavorting with sex workers at a roadside resort.
It is not surprising that Supreme Court judges continue to claim that they are immune from the transparency requirements of the Right to Information Act.
In 2005, the total value of corruption in the judiciary was quantified at Rs 2,630 crore per year.
In 2010, former law minister, Shanti Bhushan, courted contempt by claiming that eight of the last 16 chief justices were corrupt. And In 2015, Justice Markandey Katju claimed that half the higher judiciary was corrupt. Shouldn’t the judges of our country be more accountable because it is said that Caesar's wife must be above suspicion?