The Justice Karnan case has highlighted again the urgent need to amend the law and procedure on the exercise of suo motu contempt proceedings by the Supreme Court and High Courts
QUIS CUSTODIET CUSTODES? (WHO WILL judge the judges?) The judges of the Supreme Court constitute the highest court and the last court of appeal. They are neither elected nor, once appointed, can they be disciplined by any institution except Parliament by way of impeachment. The recent order of the seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court convicting and sentencing Justice C.S. Karnan of the Calcutta High Court to six months’ imprisonment for contempt of court has brought this question to the fore again. This is in addition to the questions relating to the contempt of court power usurping the impeachment function of Parliament, the propriety of the order gagging the media and the malaise of an unrepresentative judiciary.
The saga relating to Justice Karnan is not a short one. His alleged acts of irregularity, illegaly and even delinquency have been in the media for long. They have even been subjected to judicial review and remedied by higher benches of the same High Courts and even the Supreme Court. One such case, wherein he as a High Court judge happened to be impleaded, strangely as a party respondent, got tagged with the present contempt proceedings. He was evidently in the dock and the media cannot be accused of being merciful to him. But the post-punishment scenario is different. There is growing criticism against the Supreme Court regarding the manner in which it has dealt with Justice Karnan, including the allegations by and against him. True, impropriety or even illegality of the action by the Supreme Court should not be a reason to permit Justice Karnan to go scot-free if he is proved guilty under the Constitution.
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How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
