The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to suspend the six-month imprisonment sentence for Calcutta High Court Judge Justice (Retd.) C.S. Karnan, in a contempt of court case.
The saga began with Karnan writing to the Prime Minister and President accusing judges of the supreme court and the high court of corruption.
Nedumpara pleaded to the Apex Court seeking bail and suspension of the six months jail sentence, to which the court observed, “The seven-judge bench had passed the order”.
The police team searching for Karnan knew about his hiding place in Coimbatore for three days before moving in to arrest him on Tuesday, the West Bengal police chief said. We in vacation can not override it.
Since an arrest warrant was issued against him, Chinnaswamy Swaminathan Karnan went absconding and he retired as a judge of CalcuttaHigh Court on June 12 while being untraceable.
“The nature of the order clearly shows that upper caste judges are taking the law into their hands and misusing their judicial power against an SC judge with the mala fide intention of getting rid of him”. “He was taken to the state-run SSKM hospital from Presidency correctional, where he was lodged, after he complained of chest pain in the evening”.
Appearing for the retired judge, advocate Mathews J Nedumpara said equity demands that he be granted bail till the court reopened.
Following the order, Karnan tried to get relief from the top court but failed.
His lawyer had repeatedly told apex court the detailed order holding him guilty of contempt was never made available to him after May 9 – something he was entitled to like any other litigant. One of the biggest scandals in Indian Judicial History has been put to rest for now.
Article 137 empowers the Supreme Court to reconsider and modify its own orders.
The top court has barred the media from publishing and broadcasting Justice Karnan’s statements.