CHENNAI: Former Madras and Calcutta High Court judge Justice C.S. Karnan died in Chennai on Friday at the age of 71. He had been receiving treatment at a private hospital in the city. Family members will hold his funeral on Saturday, November 14.
Born on June 12, 1955, Karnan hailed from Karnatham village in Cuddalore district. He enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on April 11, 1984. He practised across the Madras High Court, City Civil Courts, and Family Courts, handling civil, criminal, constitutional, and service cases.
He received his appointment as a judge of the Madras High Court in 2009. Authorities transferred him to the Calcutta High Court in 2016.
Justice Karnan became the first sitting High Court judge in India to face a prison sentence. A seven-judge Supreme Court bench, led by then Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, convicted him of contempt of court and sentenced him to six months in jail.
Although the top court ordered his immediate arrest, Karnan evaded authorities for more than a month before police took him into custody. He retired from judicial service during that period.
The Supreme Court had initiated contempt proceedings after Karnan passed an unusual order purporting to convict the Chief Justice of India and six other Supreme Court judges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, sentencing them to five years in prison. Earlier, he had also made allegations against the Chief Justice and fellow judges of the Madras High Court.
In 2020, police registered another case against Karnan after videos surfaced online showing him abusing and threatening judges of the higher judiciary and their families, including making threats of sexual violence against female relatives.
The Madras High Court subsequently granted him bail after considering his medical condition and an unconditional apology.