A few days back Justice C S Karnan had ordered the arrest of eight justices of the Supreme Court. Now he has filed a petition in the apex court praying that it withdraw its order sentencing him to six months imprisonment for contempt. This is an irony of sorts. How can you make an appeal before judges against whom you have issued arrest warrants? If you have so much contempt for the Supreme Court why go before it in appeal?
Even as the episode involving the Kolkata high court judge unfolds, Karnan has gone into hiding. When his lawyer was questioned by the bench he said that the judge was very much in Chennai, but the police team from Kolkata which is camping in Tamil Nadu is yet to trace him.
This narrative of arrogance has turned into a cat-and-mouse game, much to the disadvantage of the missing judge. It appears, the judge did not think this through. He expected the Supreme Court to negotiate with him or forget the matter. Instead, the apex court opted to jail him. His mistake was that he played a political card in the judicial arena where rule of law takes precedent over everything else. The absconding judge must face the consequences of his actions with the same braggadocio he displayed a week back.
