#JusticeCSKarnan: Abusing Chief Justice’ Private Secretary, staying own transfer, threatening SC judges

Until the hearing in item number 56 began in court room 3 of the Supreme Court today, those present in court would not have had the faintest idea that they would be privy to one of the most bizarre hearings in recent times..But that was exactly what unfolded as Constitutional law expert and Senior Advocate KK Venugopal started his submissions in the case titled Registrar General, High Court of Judicature Madras v. Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission. It was the contents of an affidavit submitted by Venugopal’s client, B Hari, which was the source of bemusement even for the two judges on the Bench..B Hari is the Registrar and Private Secretary of the Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Sanjay Kishan Kaul. In his affidavit, Hari has made some serious allegations against Justice Karnan. As per the affidavit, Hari was asked by a constable from the residence of Justice Karnan to meet the judge..When Hari obliged and went to Justice Karnan’s residence he was greeted with “raining obscenities” by the sitting Madras High Court judge..The relevant portions of the affidavit reads as follows:.“ I went to the residence of Hon’ble Mr. Justice C.S. Karnan at 11.45 a.m. on 13.2.2016. The moment I entered His Lordship’s Residence, Hon’ble Mr.Justice C.S. Karnan, who was lying on a sofa, questioned how dare I transfer him to Calcutta and then started hurling choicest abuses in obscene language in Tamil against me and also Hon’ble Chief Justice. After raining obscenities for some time, His Lordship said that His Lordship would take care of me and asked me to get out of his place immediately.”.After the Supreme Court heard KK Venugopal, it proceeded to pass an order stating that the Madras Chief Justice can choose not to assign any judicial work to the maverick judge. The Court also held that all orders passed by the judge on judicial and administrative side after the issuance of his transfer order will also be stayed. This order was passed by the Supreme Court around 1 pm after which it rose for lunch..Things, however, did not end there..News started coming in an hour later that Karnan J. had indeed taken up his own transfer order and stayed it. It is not yet known whether this was done with or without the knowledge of the Supreme Court order passed few minutes earlier. This order, however, stood frozen automatically due to the order of the Supreme Court..The judge has now threatened that he will order registration of an FIR against the two apex court judges, Justice JS Khehar and Justice R Banumathi, under the SC/ST ( Prevention of Atrocities) Act..According to The Times of India, Karnan J. has told reporters that,.“Only allocation of judicial work has been stopped. My judicial powers are still with me. I will pass a suo motu judicial order to the Chennai city commissioner of police to register an FIR against the two judges,”..Karnan J. has been in constant tiff with the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court raising many a wild allegation against Justice Kaul. The judge had also questioned a lot of administrative decisions made by the High Court and initiated suo moto cases against his own High Court..However, the contents of the affidavit submitted today along with the subsequent conduct of the judge raise a serious question mark on his continuance on the Bench..A transfer to another High Court is simply not good enough.