The Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Chennai arrested CS Karnan, a former Madras and Calcutta high court judge on Wednesday for passing defamatory remarks against women and various Supreme Court and high court judges in his online videos.
He had appeared for the first time before the CCB on November 26 for an investigation. The CCB has registered a case against Karnan under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 228 (intentional insult or interruption of a public official in a judicial process), Section 509 (word or gesture intended to insult the modesty of any woman) and Section 153 (provocation with the intention of causing a disturbance).
A bank in the Madras high court division is hearing the case against Karnan. The Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Bar Association has requested criminal action against the former judge. On Monday, the court had summoned the Chennai City Police Commissioner and the Director General of Police to be present at the December 7 hearing.
His questioning began after the Madras High Court ordered the Chief of Police to supervise the investigation and the city commissioner to supervise the investigation of the case.
During the recent hearing in November, the state informed the court that they have blocked their YouTube videos and are taking steps to block more content.
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The court had observed that Karnan’s “repeated statements would undermine the dignity, reputation, honor and majesty of the institution.”
Karnan is the first acting superior court judge to be found guilty of contempt by the Supreme Court in 2017 on indictments against justices. He served six months in a Kolkata jail and was released in December 2017.
Judge Karnan had previously denied any wrongdoing, saying he was only highlighting the upper caste bias in the country’s higher judiciary.
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