File.createNewFile() failing in java (Ubuntu 12.04)

File.createNewFile() failing in java (Ubuntu 12.04)

I am trying to createNewFile() in java.I have written down the following
example.I have compiled it but am getting a run time error.
import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
public class CreateFileExample
{
public static void main(String [] args)
{
try
{
File file = new File("home/karthik/newfile.txt");
if(file.createNewFile())
{
System.out.println("created new fle");
}else
{
System.out.println("could not create a new
file");
}
}catch(IOException e )
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
It is compiling OK.The run time error that I am getting is
java.io.IOException: No such file or directory
at java.io.UnixFileSystem.createFileExclusively(Native Method)
at java.io.File.createNewFile(File.java:947)
at CreateFileExample.main(CreateFileExample.java:16)