Newsmaker judge was first to complain of caste bias

CHENNAI: This is the second time that Justice C S Karnan has hit national headlines. In November 2011, he became the first sitting judge of a high court to petition the National Commission for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, alleging caste discrimination in the higher judiciary.
He even named certain judges who, he said, had ill-treated him in gatherings and official functions.
After his allegations caused a national uproar, Justice Karnan convened a media conference in his chamber on the high court campus and defended his decision to move the SC/ST commission to vent his grievances.
He told reporters that the commission being a statutory body created to ensure the welfare of the entire Dalit population in the country, even a high court judge could approach it for remedy. No matter what post/status one occupies, the commission is the statutory mechanism for all Dalits in the country, he had said. The complaint is still pending before the national commission.
Karnan, 58, is a native of Virudhachalam, who completed his schooling in his hometown before moving to Chennai where he received his law degree. He got enrolled on April 11, 1984, and was appointed additional judge of Madras high court on March 31, 2009.
He has passed several hundred judgments on motor accident compensation claims, and advocates specializing the branch said he was a conscientious judge in awarding compensation to victims.