Roundup: Indian judiciary struggling within itself to enforce writ

A four-member team of doctors along with police on Thursday morning entered Justice Chinnaswamy Swaminathan Karnan's residence in New Town, Kolkata, the capital city of India's eastern state of West Bengal.

The small contingent turned up to carry out medical examination of Justice Karnan, the Calcutta high court judge, on orders of the country's top court to ascertain if he was "feigning mental imbalance."

A seven-judge bench headed by India's Chief Justice J S Khehar on Monday directed West Bengal police chief to form a team of police officers to assist the board of doctors in carrying out medical examination of the Calcutta high court judge.

Kolkata city was previously known as Calcutta.

However, Justice Karnan declined to undergo a medical examination, saying he was "quite normal and has a stable mind." The judge gave his refusal in writing to the doctors who had come to conduct the medical test.

"My strong view about the Supreme Court order is that it amounts to insult and harassment towards the Dalit judge," Justice Karnan tells the visiting team. "For holding such a medical examination, guardian's consent is required. As my family members are not here, there is no such consent. So any medical test can't be held."

This is a snippet of an unprecedented crisis that the Indian judiciary is currently entangled within itself. Judges from the Supreme Court are issuing orders against a fellow judge in high court, who is responding with the same, questioning each other's mental health.

Justice Karnan stirred up hornet's nest on Jan. 23 after he wrote a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi containing names of 20 "corrupt judges" and three senior law officials, urging him to act.

The war of judgements began in February this year after the apex court issued a contempt of court notice against Justice Karnan for allegedly degrading the judiciary over his "scurrilous" letters against sitting and retired high court and Supreme Court judges. The court demanded an explanation from Justice Karnan and ordered him to appear in person.

Justice Karnan ignored the court directive after which the top court asked him to present himself on March 10, thereby giving him second chance.

By now the judges have embarked on collision course.

Undeterred Justice Karnan did not showed up and the enraged Supreme Court issued a "bailable warrant" against him, ordering the West Bengal police chief to bring him on March 31. The court also barred the Justice from handling any judicial or administrative function, asking him to return all official files in his possession to registrar general of Calcutta high court.

The rebellious Justice Karnan in open defiance of the top court passed an order the same day, accusing the Chief Justice of India J S Khehar - led seven-judge bench of caste bias in initiating proceedings against him for he belonged to a low caste Dalit community.

Karnan alleged the judges harbour a caste bias against him and that the apex court order amounts to an offence under the law to punish atrocities against Dalits and tribals. He challenged the court to refer his case to Parliament.

"The suo motu order against me, a Dalit judge, is unethical and goes against the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe (Prevention of) atrocities Act. It is certainly a national issue and a wise decision would be to refer the issue to the House of Parliament," Karnan said in his order issued from his home.

Justice Karnan belongs to a Dalit community. Dalits were previously known as untouchables in India and fall at the bottom of India's caste hierarchy.

Justice Karnan also addressed a letter to the seven senior most judges who are hearing his case directing them to pay compensation of 2.2 million U.S. dollars (140 million INR) to him for disturbing his mind and normal life.

"Judge means a dignified person of law who has to hear both sides of the case and pass order in accordance with law. Hence, I request you (CJI and other six judges) to cancel the unconstitutional bench and restore my normal work. The seven judges should pay compensation, a sum of 140 million INR since you have disturbed my mind and my normal life, besides you have insulted me in the general public consisting of a population of 120 crores in India due to lack of legal knowledge," read a passage from the letter.

He alleged the senior judges had issued the order to protect the 20 judges against whom he has filed a complaint of corruption.

The rebel judge threatened to restrain judicial and administrative work of the top judges.

A few days later, when the apex court issued an arrest warrant against Justice Karnan, he "refused" to accept saying it was "illegal" and "unconstitutional".

Last week Karnan took the entire Indian judiciary by surprise after he passed an order banning the Chief Justice and the other six judges from leaving the country, for they were being tried for caste bias against him. He has directed the country's Air control authority to bar the judges "till the case is disposed off."

"If the judges are permitted to travel abroad then there is a probability of the virus of caste discrimination spreading," he said while passing the order from a makeshift court he has set up at his home after being barred from the high court.

Previously also in 2009, Justice Karnan during his tenure as a high court judge in Tamil Nadu accused two chief justices of discriminating against him because of him being a low caste.

The bickering touched a new low after he ordered the top judges to appear at his "home-court" on May 1, the day he was asked to appear in the top court.

At this stage the Supreme Court raised a question mark on the sanity of Justice Karnan and ordered a panel of doctors be formed to examine him.

Within hours of the apex court order, he too passed a "counter-order" - directing the director general of police (DGP) in New Delhi to take Chief Justice J S Khehar and other judges to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi for a psychological test and submit the report to him by May 7.

Legal experts are watching the battle with fingers crossed as this is for the first time that Indian judiciary was struggling within itself to enforce its writ.

Burhan Majid who teaches law at Central University in Srinagar said Justice Karnan affair reinforces the longstanding need for a judicial accountability law in India.

"I don't see the phenomena from the caste angle. This is purely a problem of misconduct and the corruption in the judiciary," Majid said. "The way Justice Karnan affair has played out raises the fundamental question whether the Supreme Court of India has a power of superintendence over the high courts. Since both are constitutional courts."

As the two sides grapple with, the question of who is committing contempt and whose writ runs large, the case is likely to drag on for some time. Endit