The whole imbroglio between the Supreme Court and Calcutta High Court Justice CS Karnan is a national embarrassment.
And it is not going to go away just because the intemperate remarks made by Karnan about the 20 Supreme Court judges and the Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi have forced the apex court’s hand into sentencing the vocal judge to six months in jail.
Karnan, in his letter to the president three months ago, did not even spare the Chief Justice of India JS Khehar.
The standoff was awkward and tilting towards the absurd weeks ago, and should have been ended by some sort of third-party arbitration. Instead, it has now become a cause celebre that threatens to turn rancid with Karnan using his Dalit card to allege racism and prejudice, saying he has been treated as such because he is of a specific caste.
This caste angle is always dangerous and one cannot see Karnan backing off. Instead, he will probably become more hostile and continue to make stronger and more personal accusations.
This unedifying legal wrangle is already entering the farcical with the high court rebel “justifying” the contents of his letter to the president and insisting on their investigation.
