In Brief

Justice C.S. Karnan of the Madras High Court faced criminal contempt charges for addressing malicious letters to government authorities and the media, naming over 30 judges (including Supreme Court justices and Chief Justices) with unsubstantiated allegations of corruption, discrimination, and moral turpitude. He also passed invalid suo-motu orders during contempt proceedings, including orders sentencing Supreme Court judges to imprisonment. The Supreme Court (7-judge bench) found him guilty of the gravest form of contempt, rejected his plea that he was raising caste-based discrimination, and sentenced him to six months imprisonment forthwith, restraining publication of his further statements.

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