CS Karnan walks a free man from Kolkata jail

NEW DELHI: Justice CS Karnan, the first sitting judge in the judicial history of independent India to be jailed for contempt of court by the Supreme Court over his scandalous remarks against several superior judges, walked out a free man on Wednesday from a Calcutta jail.

He had spent six months in jail.

A seve n -judge bench of the top court, led by former chief justice of India JS Khehar, had asked him to apologise or face jail term.


Karnan stubbornly refused to take back his words, choosing to stay away from the jampacked open court hearings after putting in a rare appearance during which he portrayed himself as a victim of the system.

In court, he alternated between acting passive and aggressive, blamed his mental state on the court’s decision to withdraw all judicial and administrative duties from him.