The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to suspend retired Calcutta High Court judge CS Karnan’s six-month term in a contempt case, maintaining that he must serve the entire sentence. The bench also denied his request for bail.
Justice Karnan, who had been absconding since the top court had ordered his arrest early in May, was apprehended in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. To escape arrest, he had checked into resorts under false names and switched cellphones to avoid being tracked, according to NDTV. He will now be taken to Presidency Jail in Kolkata, West Bengal.
The 62-year-old’s term as a high court judge ended during the month he spent evading arrest. Since the Supreme Court convicted him of contempt for accusing top court judges of corruption, he has maintained that he was being targeted for being a Dalit. The apex court bench had also questioned Karnan’s mental health on multiple occasions.
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