SC refuses to suspend term

NEW DELHI: A Supreme Court bench on Wednesday refused to give bail or suspend the jail term handed to former high court justice CS Karnan, who will now need to be in prison till at least July 3 when the Constitution bench that convicted him returns from vacation.

Karnan was captured in Coimbatore on Tuesday after being on run since May 9 when the SC handed an unprecedented six-month jail sentence to him for contempt of court.

“We cannot override the earlier order of the seven-judge bench neither do we intend to,” said an SC vacation bench of justice YV Chandrachud and justice SK Kaul while rejecting Karnan’s bail plea.

The bench asked Karnan’s advocate, M Nedumpara, to approach the Constitution bench, which will sit only after the summer vacation period ends on July 3. “You have to mention the matter before the Chief Justice of India.”

The court also dismissed Karnan’s plea to suspend the jail term till the bail matter was heard by a bench of 7 judges.

Karnan retired on June 12, the first senior judge to do so as a fugitive.

The SC had last month directed West Bengal police to arrest him but he went absconding soon after.

His sentencing of Karnan came after a month-long, and sometimes farcical, standoff with the top court that saw the two sides issuing a string of orders against each other.