SC refuses to suspend jail term for retired Calcutta HC judge CS Karnan

Karnan, who was arrested in Coimbatore on Wednesday in connection with a contempt case,  pleaded to SC for the exemption from his jail term.

Dismissing the plea, the apex court said the accused must appear before the seven-judge bench as soon as the summer break gets over. Meanwhile, he would have to stay in custody.

The judges- DY Chandrachur and SK Kaul- told Karnan's lawyer that "judicial equity was observed in the case".

West Bengal's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials on Tuesday had arrested  Karnan after a long hide-and-seek game that followed the top court's order against him for repeatedly jumping summons.

A CID official told IBNS that Karnan will be produced in a Chennai court on Wednesday and he will be taken to Kolkata on a transit remand later.

Earlier in May, Supreme Court had  sentenced C.S. Karnan to six months of imprisonment, holding him guilty of contempt of court, and directed West Bengal Police's DG to arrest the controversial judge.

Supreme Court pronounced the order, days after Karnan found eight justices of Supreme Court, including Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar, guilty under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and awarded them with five years rigorous imprisonment.

Based on an a  suo-motto hearing, Karnan pronounced the order in a makeshift court at his residence in Kolkata's New Town area on May 8.

Since an arrest warrant was issued against him, Chinnaswamy Swaminathan Karnan went absconding and he retired as a judge of CalcuttaHigh Court on June 12 while being untraceable.