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Thread : Here is an article in @thewire_in where multiple "eminent citizens" have severely criticized the recent contempt proceedings initiated against Mr. Bhushan. The one that catches my eye is Ret. Justice Madan Lokur and I'll tell you why. (1/n) https://thewire.in/law/prashant-bhushan-contempt-supreme-court-solidarity-statement
CS Karnan was a judge in the Madras HC when in 2011. He started making it to the headlines for levelling corruption allegations against CJ Madras at that point of time (J. Kaul). He also made an allegation that he was being discriminated against for being a Dalit. (2/n)
A decision was immediately taken to transfer him to the Calcutta HC. Justice Karnan stayed the order of his own transfer. His stay order was lifted by the SC. He was defiant, but after a meeting with the then CJI, he agreed to take the transfer in 2016. (3/n)
In January 2017, Justice Karnan had published an open letter to the prime minister naming "an initial list" of 20 sitting and retired Supreme Court and High Court judges, accusing them of corruption. This was followed by accusations of casteism against judges of the SC.(4/n)
Did the SC look into any of these allegations to judge whether there was any truth to them? No. What did they do instead? They passed repeated orders for mental health checkups of Karnan, still a sitting High Court judge. https://www.livemint.com/Politics/VmuE6bYJ16I0SZlltM2uJP/SC-sentences-justice-Karnan-to-6-months-imprisonment-for-con.html
When Justice Karnan was defiant, a 7 judge Bench of the SC took up suo moto criminal contempt proceedings against Justice Karnan and sentenced him to 6 months imprisonment. Now the best part. Justice Madan Lokur was on that Bench :) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/amp/sc-slams-justice-karnan-over-repeated-pleas-to-recall-arrest-order/1051017
Justice Madan Lokur had the golden opportunity to stand up for free speech and record his dissent. But he did not. Why? Justice Karnan had levelled allegations of corruption and casteism, which are serious allegations the judiciary has been grappling with. A sitting judge of a +
+ High Court was jailed for 6 months over this? A few months later, 4 judges of the SC leveled the exact same allegations against other sitting judges in a famous Press Conference. Justice Madan Lokur was one of them. Was he jailed thereafter? No, he was hailed instead :) +
+ This man was a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. Do his actions reflect any adherence to first principles or any principle for that matter? No. Should his signature along with these others be called out and criticized? It is for you to decide :)
For the record, I am strictly against the concept of contempt of court to stifle free speech. It must be amended to limit it to obstruction of justice and wilful disobedience of the Court's orders. And I have said so several times before. But while it exists, it must be +
+ applied uniformly. If it discriminates, not only is it a violation of Art 14 but it will also demonstrate how, in practice, a Lutyens elite citizen is more powerful than even a sitting judge of a High Court !
