Judge C.S. Karnan retires today

Supreme Court had issued a contempt of court notice against him for allegedly degrading the judicial institution.

Justice C S Karnan.

Controversial Calcutta High Court Judge C.S. Karnan, slapped with a contempt notice by the Supreme Court, is retiring on Monday.

“He turns 62 today [retirement age for a High Court judge]. [But] technically he has retired on May 9 [Friday] since it’s the last working day of his tenure,” Karnan’s lawyer Peter Ramesh Kumar told The Hindu .

Justice Karnan has been evading arrest since May 10 after the Supreme Court sentenced him to six months imprisonment for contempt of court and ordered his immediate arrest.

Mr. Kumar said the judge would not be present at the High Court on Monday as he is banned from performing his judicial duties since February by the Supreme Court. The lawyer argued that if Justice Karnan was “performing his duty as a judge till his retirement" then only he would have come to the court to complete formalities on the last day of his tenure as a judge.

In February, the Supreme Court issued a contempt of court notice against Justice Karnan for allegedly degrading the judicial institution.

A seven-judge Bench, led by the Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, heard Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi who said that Justice Karnan should face contempt proceedings for his

“scurrilous” letters against sitting and retired High Court and Supreme Court judges .

Justice Karnan had written to the Prime Minister and allegedly accused several retired and sitting Supreme Court and High Court judges of corruption.