Ex justice Karnan admitted to Chennai hospital with Covid-19
Former judge of the Madras and Calcutta high court was arrested on December 2 for passing defamatory remarks against women and judges of the Supreme Court and high courts.
Former justice CS Karnan, who was arrested last week by the crime branch in Chennai, has tested positive for Covid-19 infection on Wednesday and is undergoing treatment at a designated prisoner ward at the government Stanley hospital in Chennai.
Police brought Karnan to the hospital on Tuesday night and he was admitted with complaints of weakness and tiredness. “He is stable,” said Dr P Balaji, dean, Stanley Medical College.
“Since he is 66 years old, a thorough evaluation was done along with a chest CT which showed changes. A subsequent swab test confirmed that he had the coronavirus infection. He had no history of fever or breathlessness,” the doctor added.
Stanley hospital is the designated treatment centre for all prisoners in Tamil Nadu. The hospital runs a covid care centre inside the Puzhal prison.
Central crime branch in Chennai had arrested the former judge of the Madras and Calcutta high court on December 2 for passing defamatory remarks against women and judges of the Supreme Court and high courts in his online videos.
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Karnan is facing charges under the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Act, 2000 and Tamil Nadu (prohibition of) Harassment of Women Act.
A division bench of the Madras high court is hearing the case against Karnan. The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have sought criminal action against him.
Karnan is the first serving high court judge to have been found guilty of contempt by the Supreme Court in 2017 for levelling unsubstantiated allegations against judges. He served six months in a Kolkata jail and was released in December 2017. Karnan had previously claimed that he was just highlighting the upper caste bias in the higher judiciary in the country.