SC orders medical examination of Calcutta high court judge Karnan

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court ordered on Monday a medical examination of sitting Calcutta HC judge Justice CS Karnan for not appearing before it in the contempt proceedings pending against him, escalating an unprecedented confrontation within the judiciary.

The judge has accused a number of top judges of corruption, triggering the first-ever contempt proceeding against a sitting HC judge. SC initiated the proceedings on its own in February after which Justice Karnan issued several orders, purported to be judicial directions, against the seven judges, the latest one restraining them from leaving the country.

The bench declared on Monday all such orders invalid and noted that they indicated that Justice Karnan was not in a position to defend himself. It said no court or tribunal shall take cognizance of his directions.

“No one can say such things and get away. But any person can do such things and say he is unwell”, the bench said on Monday after a suggestion was made that Justice Karnan was mentally imbalanced.The bench asked Kolkata government hospital to constitute a panel of doctors to examine Justice Karnan on May 5. The order does not specify what kind of medical examination it would be.

However, the bench also asked DGP, West Bengal, to form a team of policemen that shall help the board to execute the court order. The report has to be submitted before the court on or before May 8 and the bench would hear it on May 9.

Within hours of the SC order, the defiant HC judge ordered the psychological examination of the CJI and other judges. “I set aside this SC order,” he said. NEWDELHI:Top seven judges of the Supreme Court (SC) of India are in a fix.

They are struggling with a bizarre situation emerging out of a defiant attitude of Calcutta high court (HC) judge, Justice CS Karnan — who accuses not just the top court judges of discrimination and corruption but also makes similar wild allegations against Madras HC judges.

Add to this, freakish orders by Justice Karnan — directing psychological examination of CJI JS