Justice (retired) C.S. Karnan’s son Sugen, a computer engineer in Chennai, says the Supreme Court wanted his father arrested as a judge, and he was happy that it did not happen. Excerpts from an exclusive interview:
Now that your father has been arrested, what would be your future course of action?
Our counsel is moving the Supreme Court. We will try to secure bail for my father.
Will that be easy?
Well, we know it can’t happen overnight. But we will continue to press for it and we are hopeful that he will get it.
How was he found by the police?
It is mainly because the West Bengal Police monitored the signal of the mobile phone of my dad’s assistant. He was talking to people recently over mobile phone.
Being a judge, why did he have to hide from the law?
He was not hiding. He was simply staying at the houses of the relatives, but was not in touch with anyone.
Did you pay for his stay at guest houses and resorts?
No, not at all. Our relatives allowed him to stay at their places.
Did he consider surrendering?
Not at all. His mercy petition is pending with the president. The Central government was also looking into his grievances. At this point, there was no question of a surrender.
Had the mercy petition been rejected, would he have surrendered?
Definitely. He is a law-abiding person. What he felt was that he was sentenced as a judge and he has been illegally arrested when the mercy petition is pending.
But he was not arrested as a judge.
Yes. That was a relief. The Supreme Court wanted him to be arrested as a judge, which ultimately did not happen. The Supreme Court failed ultimately. We are happy to see that.
Will Justice Karnan continue his tirade [against corruption in judiciary] like before?
Absolutely. It is a national issue. He is fighting the case on the behalf of the nation. My brother, my mother or I would not come between him and his work.
So he will be as aggressive as he was before.
Yes, he will continue to fight.
