Madras High Court judge warns CJ of contempt of court
Madras High Court
Madras High Court Judge C S Karnan has triggered a fresh row by threatening to file contempt of court proceedings against HC Chief Justice Sanjay K Kaul, as well as warning that he would initiate proceedings against him under provisions of the SC/ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act.
In two separate unsigned letters sent to Chief Justice Kaul (on April 16 and 30), Justice Karnan also stated that he was suo motu staying the administrative order of the Chief Justice with regard to selection of civil judges, finding fault with the appointments.
The Madras High Court registry has now moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the order passed by Justice Karnan. The matter is listed for hearing on Monday before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India H L Dattu.
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Justice Karnan has said he would go to the National SC/ST Commission against Justice Kaul for “harassing” him.
In November 2011, Justice Karnan had created a flutter by alleging that fellow judges had humiliated him. He had said Dalit judges were targeted and their reputation tarnished whenever they asserted their self-respect. In January last year, he had commented against the high court collegium over selection of judges, storming into a courtroom hearing a PIL to make his point.
In the latest instance, Justice Karnan raised objections against a five-member judge panel interviewing candidates for selection as civil judges. He accused one of the judges with having a bogus degree certificate and questioned the inclusion of two judges from the same community and family. He sought that two of the judges be from minority communities, Muslim and Christian.
Once he addressed a press conference at his chamber in which, narrating the “humiliation” and “embarrassment” he faced in the high court, he alleged that a fellow judge sitting cross-legged next to him at a meeting had touched him with his shoes deliberately and then said sorry. “Two other judges were watching it smiling,” he said.
In 2013, Justice Karnan had ruled that if a couple at the right legal age indulged in sexual gratification, it would be considered a valid marriage and they could be termed husband and wife.
Source:: Indian Express