HC Judge stays SC order on transfer

HC Judge stays SC order on transfer

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 06:05 PM IST
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Even as SC directs Madras HC Registry not to give him work

Chennai : In an unprecedented development in the Indian judiciary, Justice C Karnan, a controversial sitting judge of the Madras High Court, on Monday stayed an order of the Supreme Court collegium dated February 12 transferring him to the Calcutta High Court. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court, which got wind of Justice Karnan’s machinations, in an equally unprecedented decision, directed the Madras High Court Registry not to allocate any judicial work to the judge as he has been transferred.

The Supreme Court had decided to transfer Justice Karnan, a Scheduled Caste judge, after the Madras High Court Registry had approached it saying the judge had written to Chief Justice S K Kaul levelling allegations of caste-based bias.

 Justice Karnan has in the past written to the National Commission for Scheduled Caste and Tribes accusing his brother judges of ill-treating him on account of him being a Dalit. He has also levelled serious allegations of misconduct against some fellow judges and openly accused the sitting Madras High Court Chief Justice S K Kaul of sidelining him. Two years ago he claimed that at a party one of the brother judges had deliberately tried to trip him on the ground.

 On Monday, Justice Karnan suo motu passed an order staying his transfer and also directed the Chief Justice of India to submit his written statement in the High Court.

“Your Lordship’s proposal for my transfer to the Calcutta High court, citing better administration, has already been answered on an initial Xerox copy of the present hard copy sent by Your Lordship. I request your Lordship to submit your written statement on the issue through your subordinates by April 29. Till such time the interim order of stay (on his transfer) would operate,” he said in the order.

“I request your Lordship not to interfere in my jurisdiction, as I am in the process of finalising an order of merits. The order of transfer to Calcutta High Court is a tentative recommendation order,” Justice Karnan further said adding that the transfer order goes against a judgment of a nine-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Ratnavel Pandian in 1993.

Justice Karnan also convened a press meet on the court campus but the High Court administration refused to permit television camera crew inside. Following this Justice Karnan dramatically walked out of the court and spoke to journalists outside the court premises.

The judge sent a copy of his suo motu order to the President, the Prime Minister, the Union Law Minister and various political leaders, including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and some Dalit politicians.

Earlier in the day, a Supreme Court bench of Justices J S Kehar and R Banumathi had restrained Justice Karnan from passing any suo motu orders and made it clear that even if he did pass any order, it would have no effect.

 “On account of the fact that Justice C.S. Karnan had received his transfer order, we consider it just and appropriate to allow the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court not to allow any further judicial work to him,” Justice Khehar said. The Supreme Court added that Justice Karnan may make an appearance in the apex court at his own cost.

WHAT JUSTICE KARNAN WROTE

Earlier this month, Justice Karnan had written to the Madras High Court Chief Justice questioning the removal of his name from the Board of Governors at the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy. He alleged that he was replaced by a “junior upper caste judge.” Further, there were no representatives from the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe in the Academy. “My name has been removed from the inaugural function of the Regional Centres of the Academy at Coimbatore and Madurai on February 21,” he said and directed the court Registry to number the letter as a suo motu writ petition and place it before the court.

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