Justice CS Karnan of the Calcutta High Court retired today with the ignominious distinction of being the first judge to demit office while evading the police..Born on June 12, 1955 in Cuddalore District, Justice Chinnaswamy Swaminathan Karnan studied law at Madras Law College. In 1983, he enrolled at the Bar and started practicing on the civil side..He was elevated as a judge of the Madras High Court in 2009. Later, in 2016, he was transferred to Calcutta High Court after a highly publicised spat with then Madras High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and the Supreme Court..From then on, Karnan J. was no stranger to controversy. Starting in 2011, he has hogged the limelight many a time for his conduct within and outside the court..On May 9 this year, the Supreme Court of India had sentenced Justice Karnan to six months imprisonment for contempt of court..The Court had further ordered that the sentence shall be executed forthwith by the Director General of Police, West Bengal or through a team constituted by him..Coincidentally, May 9 was also the last working day for the Supreme Court before it closed for the one-and-a-half month long summer vacation. After the order was passed by the Supreme Court, Justice Karnan spoke to the press. And then, befitting the strange nature of the whole episode, he went off radar..He fled from Kolkata, resulting in a man hunt by the West Bengal police, which was ultimately led to Tamil Nadu. More than a month later, the police has not been able to trace the whereabouts of the judge..To this day, it remains a mystery as to how a judge of a High Court can disappear from law enforcement agencies without leaving any clue. There just might be more than meets the eye..When the Supreme court re-opens, the 7-judge Bench is likely to hear the matter again and it might not take a favourable view of the effort put in by the West Bengal police..For the time being though, Justice Karnan has become the first judge to retire while in hiding, still at large..Justice CS Karnan – A History of Tumult: Read more about the controversial judge here.
Justice CS Karnan of the Calcutta High Court retired today with the ignominious distinction of being the first judge to demit office while evading the police..Born on June 12, 1955 in Cuddalore District, Justice Chinnaswamy Swaminathan Karnan studied law at Madras Law College. In 1983, he enrolled at the Bar and started practicing on the civil side..He was elevated as a judge of the Madras High Court in 2009. Later, in 2016, he was transferred to Calcutta High Court after a highly publicised spat with then Madras High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and the Supreme Court..From then on, Karnan J. was no stranger to controversy. Starting in 2011, he has hogged the limelight many a time for his conduct within and outside the court..On May 9 this year, the Supreme Court of India had sentenced Justice Karnan to six months imprisonment for contempt of court..The Court had further ordered that the sentence shall be executed forthwith by the Director General of Police, West Bengal or through a team constituted by him..Coincidentally, May 9 was also the last working day for the Supreme Court before it closed for the one-and-a-half month long summer vacation. After the order was passed by the Supreme Court, Justice Karnan spoke to the press. And then, befitting the strange nature of the whole episode, he went off radar..He fled from Kolkata, resulting in a man hunt by the West Bengal police, which was ultimately led to Tamil Nadu. More than a month later, the police has not been able to trace the whereabouts of the judge..To this day, it remains a mystery as to how a judge of a High Court can disappear from law enforcement agencies without leaving any clue. There just might be more than meets the eye..When the Supreme court re-opens, the 7-judge Bench is likely to hear the matter again and it might not take a favourable view of the effort put in by the West Bengal police..For the time being though, Justice Karnan has become the first judge to retire while in hiding, still at large..Justice CS Karnan – A History of Tumult: Read more about the controversial judge here.
