Retired HC Justice Karnan tests Covid positive

Retired High Court Judge C.S. Karnan has tested positive for coronavirus and his condition is stable, said a top official of Stanley Medical College.

Karnan was arrested by the police and is in jail in connection with his social media offensive videos/posts with objectionable comments and threats of sexual violence against judiciary officials and their family members. After he felt unwell, he was taken to the hospital by the jail authorities.

"He came to the hospital on Tuesday evening for tiredness. When a CT scan was taken we found some changes in his lung. Then RT-PCR test was done and the result came positive on Wednesday early morning," P. Balaji, Dean, Stanley Medical College told IANS.

"Karnan's condition is stable now. A week before when he was brought here, he had tested negative for coronavirus," Balaji added.

Karnan had allegedly released the said videos, after which several lawyers had written to the Chief Justice of India against him. The apex court had asked them to approach appropriate authorities.

In October, the Cyber Crime Wing of the Chennai Police had registered a case against Karnan.

The complaint was filed by a non-practising advocate S.Devika, a non-aggrieved party and Karnan's contention was that only an aggrieved party can file a complaint against any person.

Nevertheless, Karnan had appeared before the police for inquiry.

Meanwhile, a case was filed in the Madras High Court to register a case against Karnan.

It may be recalled that when Karnan was a Judge in the Calcutta High Court, he was sentenced to a six-month jail for contempt of court in 2017 by the Supreme Court. He was arrested by the Kolkata Police and served his jail term.