HC refuses to hear former judge’s bail plea virtually

Chennai

Posting the bail plea for a physical hearing to February 4, Justice V Bharathidasan made it clear that he did not want to conduct a virtual hearing in the matter as past experience revealed that hundreds of people login into virtual court resulting in court proceedings getting disrupted. Justice Bharathidasan also observed that there were complaints from other Benches that the court proceedings were being recorded.

Appearing for the former judge, senior counsel G Rajagopalan submitted that he is not in a good state of mind and is suffering from severe mental agony. To this, Justice Bharathidasan, noting that “we will see it during the physical hearing”, remarked: “You are only concerned with your state of agony. Have you considered the agony undergone by the affected persons?”

Responding to the same, the senior counsel submitted that Karnan is willing to give individual apologies for his conduct.

The former judge in his bail plea has submitted that he is suffering from various health conditions, including severe mental depression following the six-month imprisonment undergone by him on the Supreme Court’s orders for contempt of court and his brother’s death owing to COVID-19. “The petitioner submits that his undesirable acts of releasing videos against the members of the higher judiciary and members of the Bar, for which he regrets, is on account of an unstable and depressive mind,” the plea said.