HC judge will appear in SC to argue against collegium move to transfer him

issued by then Chief Justice of India T S Thakur on February 12.

Justice Karnan also sought a response fromthecjiregardinghistransferwhileasking him “not to interfere” with his jurisdiction. Justice Karnan questioned the authority of the CJI as the head of the Collegium to issue transfer orders for “better administration”.

His orders prompted the Madras High Court, through its Registrar General, to approach the top court with a plea to restrain the judge from issuing such orders. On February15,2016,theapexcourtrestrained Justice Karnan from issuing any judicial order—suomotuorotherwise—andimposed ablanketstayonalldirectionsissuedbyhim after February 12 when the collegium moved to transfer him.

While also withdrawing all judicial and administrative work from Justice Karnan, the apex court gave him liberty to contest the petition by the High Court.

Daysafterthecourtorder,justicekarnan, wrote a letter to the CJI, blamed his actions on “loss of mental balance due to mental frustrations” over alleged caste bias against him in the High Court.

Justicekarnan,whohasalsobeenissued a formal notice in this matter, has now decided to appear on February 13 before a bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Amitava Roy. In his letter, the judge sought the discharge of his advocate and stated that he would argue his case on his own. The bench accepted his plea last week and allowed his counsel to withdraw.

Meanwhile, senior lawyer K K Venugopal, representing the High Court Chief Justice and the Registry, informed the bench that the government accommodationallottedtojusticekarnaninchennaihas not been vacated although rules prescribe that he must vacate it within a month of his transfer.

“Thegovernmentaccommodationisrequired, as 14 new judges have been appointed. A judge cannot keep the government accommodation for more than a month, once he ceases to be a judge of the High Court of the State of Tamil Nadu,” submitted Venugopal. The lawyer also complained that 12 files of the court are with Justice Karnan and are required to be returned.

The bench asked Venugopal to file a formalapplicationinthisregardwithinaweek and sought the judge’s response on the plea to vacate the bungalow and return the files. “Let intimation be given to Hon’ble Mr Justice C S Karnan for the next date of hearing. List the matter on February 13,” stated the order.

Allsupremecourtandhighcourtjudges are empowered under the Constitution to issue suo motu orders. The Supreme Court and the CJI exercise administrative authority over the high courts. However, a high courtoranapexcourtjudgecanberemoved only through impeachment by Parliament and not through any administrative or judicial order.

Justicekarnanhasfoundhimselfamidst controversies earlier, too.

In June 2013, he had ruled that if a couple of legal age indulges in sexual gratification, it will be considered a valid marriage and they can be termed husband and wife. After facing backlash from the public and the legal fraternity, he issued a gag order to restrain others from making adverse comments.

Heonceaddressedapressconferenceat his chamber, 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 touchedhimwithhisshoesdeliberatelybefore apologising, and that two other judges looked on “smilingly”. He has also lodged complaints with the national commission for SC/STS, claiming he was abused by fellow judges because he was a Dalit.