Restore my work or I am willing to go to jail: CS Karnan to Supreme Court

Calcutta High Court judge Justice CS Karnan who appeared before the Supreme Court first time since the contempt notice was issued against him said restore my work or I am willing to go to jail.

But, the seven-judge Supreme Court bench refused to restore administrative and judicial work to Justice Karnan and asked him to respond to the contempt notice in four weeks. However, Justice Karnan opposed the non-restoration of his judicial powers and said that he will not appear in the apex court on next date of hearing.  "I am also holding constitutional post. My dignity has been hurt and work has been taken away without hearing me," he said. He also added that he was not fighting for personal benefit, but was fighting for institutional integrity and that the judiciary has not taken any action against the complainants.

The Chief Justice of India JS Khehar also asked Justice Karnan if he’ll stick to a previous submission of tendering unconditional apology or wants to argue in person/engage a lawyer.

Since, his mental health was constantly brought up as a reason when he didn't appear for the hearing, CJI Khehar suggested Justice that a medical record can be filed if he thinks he is "not mentally fit" to respond. But, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that there was no question of non-comprehension, he is aware of what he's doing. To which, SC replied saying we can see his state of mind is not clear and he is not able to comprehend what exactly he is doing. Justice Karnan also asked the apex court to restore his work or else he wouldn't get back to normal senses.

After the conclusion of hearing, Justice Karnan issued a contempt notice against seven judges alleging that they violated "principal of natural justice", which ensures procedural fairness. When asked by ANI, if he has the power to do so, he said "yes I do".

In an unprecedented order on March 10, the Supreme Court had issued bailable warrants against Karnan to secure his presence before it on March 31 in a contempt case. "I am greatly saddened by what is happening. A sitting judge of a High Court, who is supposed to be a matured individual, is acting in a reckless manner making scurrilous allegations against brother judges of the High Court, against sitting judges of the Supreme Court," the AG said while talking to a private news channel here.

He also said Justice Karnan's claim of being discriminated against for being a Dalit is without substance and added that judges are appointed on the basis of merit and not caste or religion. "To talk about the Dalit card and all that is absolutely without substance. We have judges from all walks of life. Whether minority, majority, caste, religion. We never had this kind of thing. Judges are not appointed on the basis of caste or religion. They are appointed on the basis of merit or standing," Rohatgi said.

He also said the judiciary has to solve it and the government has nothing to do with it. "The government has nothing to do with this. It is a matter really internally of the judiciary. The judiciary has to solve it and obviously the message must go out loud and clear that if it happens, these kind of things happen within the judiciary, the judiciary must come out openly and ensure that it will act in the same manner or maybe a little stricter, if it happens amongst you," he said.

The top law officer also said that for a country which follows the rule of the law all are supposed to obey the order of the court. "It's very saddening and actually I am at a loss of words to explain such conduct. Not appearing before the court, defying the court. See, for a country which follows the rule of law, everybody has to obey the order of a court. The higher you go, greater the obedience. Whatever the message he was sending, this way the institution will crumble. The rule of law will break down and it will be complete anarchy," he said.

(With inputs from agencies and Ritika Jain)