Overview
- Former Madras High Court judge C. S. Karnan died in Chennai on Friday after treatment at a private hospital, hospital authorities said.
- In May 2017 a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court found Karnan guilty of criminal contempt and sentenced him to six months in prison after he issued a self-styled order targeting the then chief justice and other top judges.
- Karnan evaded arrest for several weeks after the contempt order, was taken into custody in Coimbatore on June 20, 2017, and served the sentence before retiring in June 2017.
- After retirement he launched the Anti Corruption Dynamic Party in 2018, circulated abusive videos and faced multiple criminal cases, was arrested by Tamil Nadu police on December 2, 2020, and won conditional bail from the Madras High Court on March 23, 2021 after filing unconditional apology affidavits.
- Karnan’s long running public accusations of caste discrimination against fellow judges and his confrontational methods left a contested legacy that has prompted fresh questions about how the judiciary polices conduct and handles internal grievances.