Calcutta High Court judge CS Karnan, who has been issued a warrant by the Supreme Court for contempt of court after he failed to show before the apex court in a corruption case, has written a letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) JS Khehar and other judges on the Constitution bench of the SC demanding Rs 14 crore compensation for insulting him in public.
Also read: SC issues contempt notice to controversial Calcutta HC judge CS Karnan
Meanwhile, top officials of the West Bengal Police, including the Director General of Police (DGP) and the Kolkata Commissioner of Police (CP), reportedly landed at Karnan's house to serve the aforementioned warrant escorted by a 100-strong police convoy, local sources reported.
Justice Karnan is currently accused in a case of corruption, and the case is before the Supreme Court right now. However, he has claimed time and again that he is being targeted by the apex court because he is a Dalit. The bench that is hearing the case against him consists of Justices Dipak Misra, J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur, Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Kurian Joseph, besides CJI Khehar.
Justice Karnan has been accused of contempt of court on account of a number of his actions, like accusing a fellow judge of caste discrimination in 2011, and as a Madras High Court judge initiating suo motu proceedings against the then Madras High Court Chief Justice. That could probably be why a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court gathered to discuss contempt proceedings against him. Usually, such benches consist of two or three judges.
Also, this was the first time a contempt proceeding was initiated against a sitting high court judge. However, Karnan chose to ignore the resulting summons from the Supreme Court, which resulted in the apex court issuing a bailable warrant against him, and ordering the West Bengal DGP to ensure that he is present before the Supreme Court on March 31.
