C. S. Karnan
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Justice C.S. Karnan is judge in Madras high court.[1]
Appointment
He had 25 years of experience as a lawyer before appointment as a judge in madras high court[2]. Other members of the collegium did not know him well and some even remarked that he had not appeared before them. They had accepted the appointment based on Justice Ganguly’s recommendation, which appears to have been made to accomodate a Dalit judge in the senior judicary.[2]
Controversies
In 2011, Justice Karnan had written to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) complaining of victimisation by the other judges because he was a Dalit.[1]
In 2013, Justice Karnan had passed a much-criticised judgment which created a new law. Penal law allows a woman to approach a court when a man deserts a woman after pre-marital sex with a promise to marry her. Justice Karnan ruled that apart from the penal law, the woman could claim social status as his wife if the man were 21 and single and the woman 18 and single and that the premise of the pre-marital sex was marriage.
In January 2014, Justice Karnan crashed into another courtroom where a two-judge bench was hearing a PIL on selection of judges and started arguing. He launched into an outburst against the unfair and biased selection of judges and said he would file an affidavit on the issue before that court.
In August 2014, when Justice Kaul was appointed as Madras HC chief justice, Justice Karnan launched into a one-man attack against many of the judges. He supposedly hurled accusations at the judges, who fell silent. It is believed that the issue was again based on discrimination. 20 judges sent a memorandum to the CJI asking that Justice Karnan be transferred since they found it difficult to work with him.
In 2015, Justice Karnan publicly alleged that another judge had sexually harassed an intern in his chamber — an allegation that he has since been unable to substantiate.
In late 2015, he wrote a letter to Justice Kaul saying he was going on a long leave because of the ‘dummy cases’ he was being allotted.
In February 2016, the apex court transferred him to Calcutta HC.
On January 23, 2017, Justice Karnan had published an open letter to the prime minister naming “an initial list” of 20 sitting and retired Supreme Court and High Court judges, accusing them of corruption.
On 8 may 2017, Karnan had sentenced Chief Justice of India JS Khehar and seven other SC judges to five-year rigorous imprisonment after holding them guilty under the SC/ST Atrocities Act-1989 and amended Act of 2015.[3]
The Supreme Court on 9 may 2017 sentenced Calcutta High Court judge Justice CS Karnan to six months imprisonment for contempt of court.
References
- ^ a b Kumar, D. Suresh. "Justice Karnan's judicial journey". The Hindu. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
- ^ a b "All You Need To Know About Justice C.S. Karnan, Who Now Faces Contempt Charge By Supreme Court". http://www.outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
{{cite news}}: External link in|work= - ^ Rajagopal, Krishnadas. "SC sentences Justice Karnan to six months imprisonment". The Hindu. Retrieved 2017-05-09.