Former Madras, Calcutta High Court judge CS Karnan dies in Chennai

CHENNAI: Former Madras and Calcutta High Court judge CS Karnan died at Apollo Hospitals in Chennai on Friday (November 13) morning. He was 71.

Justice Karnan was the first sitting High Court judge in India to be sentenced to imprisonment.

Justice Karnan, who had been undergoing treatment for health complications, died despite medical intervention. He had been residing in Chennai after his retirement.

Born in 1955 in Karnatham village in Cuddalore district to Swaminathan and Kamalam, Karnan was the second of their eight children.

He graduated in law from Madras Law College in 1983 and began practising as a lawyer. At the request of his wife, Saraswathi, he changed his birth name from Karunanidhi to Karnan in 1991.

He was appointed an Additional Judge of the Madras High Court in March 2009 and was subsequently made a permanent judge. In March 2016, he was transferred to the Calcutta High Court.

After serving in the two High Courts for over eight years, he retired on June 21, 2017.

In May 2017, a seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court found him guilty of contempt of court and sentenced him to six months in prison.

The contempt proceedings followed a series of allegations of corruption that Justice Karnan made against fellow judges of the Supreme Court and various High Courts. He also issued judicial orders against the then Chief Justice of India and other judges. He repeatedly refused to appear before the Supreme Court despite multiple summons.

The Supreme Court held that his conduct undermined the authority of the judiciary and obstructed the administration of justice.

He was arrested in Coimbatore in June 2017 and released in December that year after completing his six-month prison sentence.