"Suffering from depression after retirement, incarceration": Former High Court judge Justice CS Karnan moves Madras High Court for bail

Former High Court Judge, CS Karnan has moved the Madras High Court seeking bail in the cases registered against him for allegedly uploading videos with content that was derogatory to women and the judiciary. .The bail petition was moved in the High Court after the dismissal of his bail pleas by the Metropolitan Magistrate and the Sessions Court at Chennai. .In the petition before the High Court, Karnan has pointed out that he has not released any video containing obscene or vulgar language after he made an undertaking to refrain from any such conduct to the police, who had summoned him under Section 41A, of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) prior to his eventual arrest. .Karnan goes on to submit he has been suffering from severe depression and disturbance following his retirement and the incarceration he underwent earlier. The same had aggravated and caused him to act in an improper manner, he has stated. He was under severe trauma and not of a proper mindset, the plea states. He adds that due to severe depression, he had acted without comprehension or realising the full consequences of his actions. .He has further informed that following his arrest, he was treated at the Stanley Hospital for age-related health issues, including COVID-19. After treatment at Stanley Hospital for COVID, he was discharged and is presently confined in Central Prison 1 - Puzhal, he adds..In this backdrop, he goes on to urge the High Court for the grant of bail, while undertaking to co-operate with the police investigation and to abide by any condition that the Court may impose. The plea is likely to come up for hearing next Monday. .Karnan had served as a judge of the Madras and Calcutta High Courts, before he was held guilty of contempt of court by the Supreme Court for making unfounded allegations against the judges of the top court. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment in that case and was released from prison in December 2017..Three FIRs were registered last year against him over derogatory remarks allegedly made by him against women and the judiciary in videos uploaded online. .Writ proceedings seeking action against Karnan and the content allegedly disseminated on his behalf were initiated by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry..Following this, the High Court passed orders directing the blocking of remarks made by Karnan from social media on November 10. With the High Court monitoring the case, the police eventually arrested Karnan.