Coimbatore, June 20 (newsin.asia): Retired Calcutta High Court Judge C.S .Karnan, who has been at loggerheads with Supreme Court judges, was arrested in the Tamil Nadu city of Coimbatore on Tuesday. But a lacuna in the Supreme Court’s handling of the case could result in the suspension of the six months’ jail term, News18 says.
The West Bengal police, who had taken him into custody, are likely to bring him to Kolkata on Wednesday, the TV channel said.
At the Coimbatore flat in which he was staying Karnan resisted arrest, refusing to get into the police car and insisting that he should be allowed to speak to the media first. He was not allowed.
However at the airport he spoke to the media and that he was innocent and that he was arrested for exposing corruption in the Supreme Court.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had issued an arrest order against him for his defamatory remarks against the judges.
On June 12, Justice Karnan became the first sitting High Court judge to retire in absentia after he eluded the Supreme Court arrest order, which had sentenced him to six months in jail for contempt for court.
The order was passed by no less than seven senior-most judges of the top court and Director General of Police, West Bengal, had been ordered to ensure that the judge is made to serve the sentence.
But the order was flawed and a loophole might enable Karnan to escape punishment, News 18 said.
The order dictated by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar said that detailed reasons as to why Kanan was being handed down the maximum sentence under the Contempt of Court Act would be given later by a supplementary judgment.
The grounds and the reasons are yet to be spelled out by the apex court.
This inadequacy in the court order could be the last ray of hope for Justice Karnan. He has a right under Article 137 of the Constitution to seek a review of the judgment.
Article 137 empowers the Supreme Court to reconsider and modify its own orders. This provision can be used to get relief.
As on date, Karnan does not know the grounds of his conviction and hence he cannot file a review petition. He would, therefore, do well to move an application before the Supreme Court, citing this lacuna.
Karnan could press for suspension of his sentence, contending that he would not be in a position to a file review a petition till the seven judge-bench releases the detailed order with grounds and reasons for his arrest and conviction.
Karnan can assert his right to seek a review of the order and may state that he cannot be sent to jail without being given the reasons.
