Justice Karnan’s incident brought judicial misconduct to the forefront

Two problems were raised in the aftermath — The need to revisit the process of selection/appointment of judges to constitutional courts, the need for an alternative to removal process to tackle judicial misconduct.Updated - November 13, 2026 06:30 pm IST - NEW DELHI Justice C. S. Karnan. File | Photo Credit: M. Vedhan The ‘Justice Karnan episode’, as a few retired judges reminisce, saw a tense judiciary at crossroads nearly a decade ago in the early months of 2017.The public utterances of Calcutta High Court judge, Justice C. S. Karnan, who died on November 13, had turned “the judiciary into a laughing stock”. Published - November 13, 2026 06:19 pm IST