Elusive Karnan keeps cops guessing

Where is Justice CS Karnan? Nearly a month after the country’s top court ordered his arrest, police are clueless about the whereabouts of the Kolkata high court judge believed to be hiding in Chennai since going on the run.

If police find him within the next five days, it will be the first instance of a serving judge of the higher judiciary being arrested.

Justice Karnan, who has alleged that he is being targeted because he is a Dalit, retires on June 12.

Incidentally, the judge once again failed to get relief from the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The top court refused to hear his plea seeking a stay on its May 9 order awarding him a six-month jail term.

The top court’s order to arrest Justice Karnan came after his embarrassing spat with senior judges of the Supreme Court in the course of which he even ordered the arrest of the Chief Justice of India.

While issuing the arrest warrant against him, the Supreme Court also ordered the media to refrain from reporting Justice Karnan’s statements.

Police have been looking for him ever since the SC order. A Kolkata Police team reached Chennai on May 10 to arrest the judge. They did not find him that day. They haven’t so far — not in Chennai or in Andhra Pradesh — chasing leads that have turned out to be false.

At least two police teams comprising senior officers of West Bengal Police and headed by DGP (Home Guards) Raj Kanojia are engaged in the hunt for the judge, who hails from a village in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district.

“We went to Karnatham (Karnan’s village). We also kept a watch on a temple he has set up... But nobody could provide us with any substantial lead,” an exasperated Kanojia told HT.

AT LEAST TWO POLICE TEAMS COMPRISING SENIOR COPS OF WEST BENGAL POLICE ARE ENGAGED IN THE HUNT

CONTINUED ON P 8