Madras High Court judge received a threatening phone call

CHENNAI: A judge of the Madras High Court has said he received a threatening phone call from an unidentified person following which police have launched an inquiry.

Justice C S Karnan disclosed about the threat in an open court during proceedings yesterday. He summoned the Registrar General and Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police K N Murali of the high court police station to the court hall and said he received the threat call on Monday night around 11.30 PM on his landline in his Greenways Road residence here.

After he gave an oral complaint, Registrar General Pon Kalaiyarasan orally directed the police authorities to initiate action to identify the person. Police later received the call log from the judge's personal assistant for further inquiry.

Justice Karnan had in January this year created a stir when he commented against the high court collegium over the selection of judges. He had entered a court hall, where a Division Bench was hearing a PIL questioning the process adopted for selection of 12 judges for the High Court, and said that the process was not fair.