SC strips High Court judge Karnan of all work

NEW DELHI: In a rare event in the annals of judicial history, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday stripped sitting Calcutta High Court judge C S Karnan of all judicial and administrative work, and asked him to personally appear in court on February 13 to explain why contempt action should not be initiated against him for his improper conduct and his intemperate remarks.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India J S Khehar and Justices Dipak Misra, Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur, Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Kurien Joseph asked Justice Karnan to appear personally to respond to the allegations levelled against him on Monday.

The contemnor has to appear personally in any contempt case unless his appearance is dispensed with the court which has initiated contempt action against him.

The order came after Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi dubbed Karnan’s letters, levelling corruption charges against several sitting and retired judges of the Madras High Court and the top court as “embarrassing”, “scurrilous” and “horrendous” and demanded that the top court act to make an example out of him for bringing the system into “disrepute”.

Karnan had not only sent copies of the letters to the Prime Minister and the Law Minister but had circulated them among the public, the AG stated. “The nature of the allegations are very disparaging… intended to bring the justice delivery mechanism into disrepute,” he said, expressing the hope that the court would not “hesitate to take action against one of its own”.