Justice C.S. Karnan, a Judge of the Madras High Court, on Tuesday alleged that “gross violations” had been committed in preparing the list of 12 persons recommended for the post of Judges of the High Court.
In his suggestions to the court in connection with a writ petition against the list which consisted of 12 names, the Judge, who on an earlier occasion, walked into a court hall and told a Division Bench that the selection of names was not fair, said the required guidelines had not been followed in preparing the list. On this point, if there was any objection from the Collegium of Judges, he was ready for an open debate in the presence of lawyers, sitting and retired High Court Judges.
The Judge said the comments on his appearance before the Division Bench were “merely a ploy to divert public view” and to strengthen the contention that the 12 persons should be made Judges. He said the selection was “not conducive to court decorum and proper administrative norms and that I would substantiate this view by detailed explanations on each of the misdemeanours.” He had a locus standi to furnish more points before the Bench regarding the mode of selection of Judges for effective adjudication. Hence, ridiculous comments should be shunned until sane remedies were brought in to remove all the disparities.
Meanwhile, a Division Bench comprising Justices V. Dhanapalan and K.K. Sasidharan on Tuesday adjourned sine die further hearing on a writ petition filed by R. Gandhi, a senior advocate, against the list of names.
This was because the Supreme Court was seized of the matter. The Supreme Court on January 13 restrained the High Court from proceeding further with the writ petition. It had also ordered that the High Court’s interim order to maintain status quo regarding the process of recommendation stood vacated.
Meanwhile, advocates boycotted courts on Tuesday demanding that the recommended names be recalled. They also observed fast on the High Court premises. A group of advocates took out a procession inside the court building.
Court boycott todayAdvocates agitating against the recommended list decided to boycott courts Wednesday also.
Boycott affects litigants except in rare instances where they appear party-in-person and argue their cases. At times, hearing of important cases also gets posted for another date because of the agitation, advocates say. The litigation over the Chennai Port-Maduravoyal Elevated Corridor and a petition on collection of tenant information were listed on Tuesday.
