Indian judge sent to jail over 'contempt of court'

CS Karnan had sentenced eight top court judges to five years of rigorous imprisonment besides imposition of fine

The Indian Supreme Court on Tuesday held a high court judge guilty of contempt of court, sentencing him to six months in prison.

Justice CS Karnan, 61, from the Calcutta High Court, was accused of contempt after he named 20 “corrupt judges” in January and sought a probe alleging corruption in the judiciary, according to News Makers.

The accusations sparked a full-blown row between Karnan and India’s top court, which recently ordered his psychiatric evaluation to ascertain if he was mentally ill.

Karnan turned away the team of doctors and ordered mental evaluation for the judges instead, even as he refused to show up at court or submit to its orders.



"We are of the unanimous opinion that Justice CS Karnan has committed contempt of court, judiciary and judicial process of the gravest nature," Chief Justice JS Khehar observed in the verdict, The Hindu reported.

The court also barred media from publishing the content of orders passed by Justice Karnan, which on Monday sentenced eight Supreme Court judges to five years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs0.1million on each.

Karnan had passed the order under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 and the amended Act of 2015. He also directed the top court judges "to appear before him on May 28" and then "reposted" the order to May 1.