The focus of a proposed biography of former Calcutta High Court judge C.S. Karnan, who was awarded a six-month prison sentence for contempt of court, will be judicial reforms. Justice Karnan (retd.) is currently lodged at Presidency Jail in Kolkata following his arrest from Coimbatore last month.
“One of the key issues to be taken up in Justice Karnan’s biography will be judicial reforms focusing mainly on the process of appointment of judges and The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971,” Justice Karnan’s lawyer Mathews J. Nedumpara told The Hindu . Under the current collegium system the Chief Justice of India and a forum of four senior most judges of the Supreme Court recommend the appointment and transfer of judges.
‘Accountability of judges’
“Justice Karnan’s biography will focus on open selection of judges by notification of vacancy and invitation of application. Under the current collegium system judges appoint judges. His book will emphasise the selection of judges from a larger pool of candidates,” said Mr. Nedumpara. It will also focus on “accountability of judges.”
The book will look at the “necessary amendments” to The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. According to Mr. Nedumpara one of the key aspects of the Act to be analysed by the former judge will be “contempt of court by scandalisation.”
“Contempt of court by scandalisation is in contradiction to the democratic right to dissent and hence the need to review this position will be taken up by Justice Karnan,” said Mr. Nedumpara. As per the Act, one may be held guilty of criminal contempt if one “scandalises or tends to scandalise, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of, any court.”
The seven-judge Supreme Court Bench in its judgement stated that “the actions of Shri Justice C.S. Karnan constituted the grossest and gravest action of contempt of court. He is therefore liable to be punished for his unsavoury actions and behaviour.”
Justice Karnan had been evading arrest since May 9 after the Supreme Court sentenced him to imprisonment for contempt of court and ordered his immediate arrest.
In February, it issued a contempt of court notice against him for allegedly degrading the judicial institution.
