Ex-judge Karnan petitions governor for bail or parole
He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for contempt of court by a seven-judge bench
Former Calcutta High Court judge C.S. Karnan, jailed on an order of the Supreme Court, has moved a petition before the governor of West Bengal seeking bail or parole.
Karnan, 62, who was lodged at the Presidency Correctional Home here on June 21 following his arrest in the south eastern state of Tamil Nadu a day earlier, is at present undergoing treatment at the state-run SSKM Hospital. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for contempt of court by a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, on May 9.
Questioning the constitutionality of the order of imprisonment of Karnan by the apex court, the petition sought bail or parole for the applicant.
Making the appeal through his lawyers, Karnan said, “The applicant is ready and willing to abide by any terms and conditions that may be imposed for granting bail/parole to him.”
He appealed to Governor Kesri Nath Tripathi that he should “exercise the jurisdiction invested in your excellency and enlarge the prisoner Shri Justice C.S. Karnan on bail/parole in the interest of justice and equity”. “The appeal has been sent by speed post to the governor,” Karnan’s counsel Mathew J Nedumpara said on Monday.
“Copies of the representation have also been sent to the West Bengal chief minister, the home minister and the law minister of the state,” Nedumpara said. Karnan, who retired as a judge the Calcutta High Court on of June 12 as a fugitive, was arrested on June 20 from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu after evading the police for more than a month.
Karnan, who was on a warpath with the Supreme Court for the last several months, has the dubious distinction of being the first sitting high court judge to be awarded a jail term by the apex court.