C S Karnan, former High Court judge jailed for contempt in 2017, dies in Chennai at 71

During his time in Madras he raised allegations of caste-based discrimination within the judiciary. He accused other judges of ill-treating him because he belonged to a Scheduled Caste, and alleged discrimination against Scheduled Caste lawyers. He also challenged two former Chief Justices, R K Agrawal and Sanjay Kishan Kaul, over the names recommended for elevation to the High Court. In March 2016 he was transferred to the Calcutta High Court, where he served until his retirement in 2017.

The 2017 contempt case

In January 2017, Karnan wrote to the Prime Minister alleging corruption by a number of sitting and retired judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. The Supreme Court began contempt proceedings on its own motion. A seven-judge bench headed by the then Chief Justice of India, J S Khehar, barred him from judicial and administrative work. On 8 May 2017 Karnan reportedly passed an order of his own sentencing the Chief Justice and seven other judges to five years' rigorous imprisonment and fining each of them under the law on atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

On 9 May 2017 the bench found him guilty of criminal contempt and sentenced him to six months in prison. The court said his conduct had seriously blemished and tarnished the image of those concerned in particular, and the judiciary as a whole. He was the first sitting judge of a High Court in India to be sent to jail for contempt. He could not be traced for several weeks after the arrest order and was reported to have evaded the West Bengal Police until he retired in June 2017. He was arrested in Coimbatore that month and released in December 2017 after serving the sentence.

The six-month term was the most the law allowed. The Contempt of Courts Act of 1971 provides for simple imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of up to Rs 2,000, or both, for criminal contempt. The case also showed how a High Court judge can be treated. A sitting judge cannot be removed by the courts or the executive; the Constitution provides for removal only by an address of both Houses of Parliament, after an inquiry into proven misbehaviour or incapacity. In his case the Supreme Court barred him from judicial work while the contempt proceedings were pending, which is a restraint on duties and not a removal from office.

Later cases

In December 2020 the Tamil Nadu police arrested him again, this time in connection with a series of videos on social media that were abusive towards judges and lawyers. The cases against him included nine complaints over 33 videos and an allegation that he had trespassed at the Chennai home of a former Supreme Court judge and abused her relatives. The Madras High Court granted him bail on conditions, after he filed two affidavits apologising and undertaking not to repeat the conduct.

Karnan's case remains a reference point in discussions about how a judge can be held to account, since a High Court judge can be removed only through impeachment in Parliament, a process that has rarely been used. His supporters saw him as a judge who spoke about caste in the judiciary, and critics saw a judge who defied the Supreme Court. The accounts available do not mention any political party membership, tributes or surviving family members, and this note does not add them. The Madras High Court and the Supreme Court have not issued statements on his death in the reports seen.