In 2017, the Indian judiciary faced a situation it had never seen in its history. A sitting High Court judge was sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of court. Justice C.S. Karnan’s journey began in a small village in Tamil Nadu. The son of a schoolteacher, he worked his way up through government colleges to become a High Court judge in 2009. But what followed was years of intense friction with his peers. When allegations of corruption and misconduct started flying back and forth, the conflict reached the highest level. The Supreme Court took notice, eventually ordering his arrest before his retirement. This unprecedented fallout forced top legal minds to ask uncomfortable questions. How are judges selected in India? And what happens when the traditional checks and balances fail? His passing at age 71 marks the end of a dramatic chapter, but the debate he triggered about judicial accountability and the collegium system continues to echo across the legal world today.