Supreme Court finds Justice CS Karnan guilty of contempt of court, sentences him to jail

The Supreme Court today found the Calcutta High Court judge Justice Karnan guilty on the charges of contempt of court, and has sentenced him to six month imprisonment.

This is first time in the history of India judiciary that a sitting judge has been sentenced for contempt of court. The Chief Justice of India, JS Khehar, said, "The High Court judges are not immune from any sort of proceedings. Contempt is a jurisdiction which applies to everyone."

Terming Karnan's act as 'gravest of all', the Supreme Court observed that the Calcutta High Court justice 'abused the judicial powers and the discretion.' Justice Karnan is currently in his hometown Chennai.

Justice Karnan, who has been restrained from attending his office at the high court delivered the order from his Kolkata residence against CJI JS Kehar along with Justices Dipak Misra, J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B. Lokur, Pinaki Chandra Ghose, Kurian Joseph and R Banumathi.