National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) Chairman P.L. Punia said on Tuesday that he had not received any communication from Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia on the action taken on a complaint of Justice C.S. Karnan of the Madras High Court Judge, which was forwarded by the Commission to the CJI.
He was confident that the Supreme Court would take appropriate action on the judge's allegation of “caste discrimination just because he is a Dalit,” as it was a serious matter.
Mr. Punia told The Hindu that in his letter to the CJI, with which a copy of the complaint of Justice Karnan received by him was attached, he had pointed out that this was the first such complaint received by the Commission from a highly placed member of the Scheduled Castes alleging “harassment and discrimination in the temple of justice (Madras High Court).”
The Commission expected the Supreme Court to take appropriate action if the complaint was found to be correct, he had stated in his letter to Justice Kapadia.
Mr. Punia, a Congress MP from Barabanki (Uttar Pradesh) and former IAS officer, said that Justice Karnan met him in Delhi on September 26 and submitted the written complaint about discrimination and harassment from some “brother judges”. The Commission forwarded the complaint to the CJI in October.
Justice Karnan, addressing a press conference in Chennai a few days ago, alleged that some former judges of the Madras High Court had also faced similar problems during their tenure. Such harassment was going on since 2009, when he became a judge. With a view to maintaining the dignity of the court, he was putting up with the problems.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes, whose Chairman is under the President, is an independent body which looks into the problems faced by the members of Scheduled Castes and is the competent/appropriate authority to protect them, Justice Karnan had said.
