Prima facie, he made abusive statements consciously, knowing the consequences: Madras High Court dismisses former Judge, CS Karnan's bail pleas

The Madras High Court today dismissed bail applications moved for the release of former High Court Judge, Justice CS Karnan who was arrested for making derogatory remarks against judges and women in videos circulated online (CS Karnan v. The State)..A case had also been registered against Karnan for having attempted to barge into the premises of a retired Supreme Court Judge and shouted abusive comments at her door. .Justice V Bharathidasan pronounced a common order this morning on ten bail applications moved in the matter, after rejecting Karnan's submission that he was depressed and suffering from mental health issues at the time of his controversial acts. ."The utterances made by him in the videos would prima facie indicate that all those statements were made in a clear state of mind and uploaded the same on social media platforms fully knowing the consequences of his action and also the nature of the act he was doing. Therefore, the petitioner cannot take umbrage neither under Section 84 of IPC nor under Section 330 of CrPC," the Court ruled..The reasons cited to reject the bail plea include:There is prima facie and reasonable grounds to believe that Justice Karnan has committed the offences alleged;The gravity of the offence is very serious; The investigation is, except in one case, still pending;Considering Justice Karnan's past conduct, the court has every reason to believe that there is a likelihood of him repeating the offence in the event of releasing him on bail;On considering the past conduct of the petitioner, the Court was unable to accept the undertaking given by Justice Karnan that he would not indulge in similar conduct..The Court remarked that some of the obscene, vulgar and vituperative statements made by the former judge in his videos against judges, lawyers and court staff, including women, for no sin on their part, cannot be expected even from a layman. .Justice Bharathidasan went on to observe that there is enough material to indicate that Justice Karnan was well aware that his acts were wrong.."... the sequence of the videos and the contents would prima facie show that the petitioner had done all such acts deliberately knowing fully well that what he was doing was wrong and contrary to law.... A perusal of the transcribed text of all those video contents would clearly show that the petitioner made such abusive utterances consciously and with predetermined mind. Whenever the objectionable act of the petitioner was condemned by the well reasoned persons, he used to react quickly and start abusing them in vulgar language," the Court noted..Materials seized from Justice Karnan's residence also indicated that he himself had prepared the abusive statements for the controversial videos, the High Court added. Moreover, the judge also found it relevant that Karnan had floated a political party, the Anti Corruption Dynamic Party, of which he is the founder-President. .All of this showed that Justice Karnan did not have any physical or mental ailment which rendered his intellect weak, the Court concluded. .The Court also took note of submissions that the judge had been refusing to subject himself for medical examinations to assess his mental condition. The Court was told by the police that after his recovery from COVID-19, he is hale and healthy now. If any further medical assistance is required, the same would be provided, the police added. As such, the Judge also declined to grant bail on medical grounds. .Moreover, the Court took note of Justice Karnan's antecedents, remarking that his tirade had started from 2015 with "a number of unsustainable orders.. passed by him when he served as judge of this court and High court of Calcutta.".In this backdrop, the Court rejected all bail applications moved for the release of Justice Karnan, while also noting that he was not serious or willing to tender an apology for the acts done by him.Senior Advocate G Rajagopalan had appeared on behalf of Justice Karnan and prayed his release on bail, submitting that the former Judge is not in a good state of mind. Affidavits by Justice Karnan's wife and son were also submitted before the Court, wherein they urged for the grant of bail stating that the former Judge's mental state has been unstable since 2017. By these affidavits, Justice Karnan's family also tendered unconditional apologies for his conduct. .In his bail petition, Justice Karnan had submitted that he is suffering from various health conditions, including severe mental depression following the six-month imprisonment undergone by him on the Supreme Court's orders (after it found him guilty of contempt of court)..Coupled with this, the recent passing of his brother had also seriously affected him, owing to which he has done certain acts unknowingly and in regrettable fashion, the bail plea added..While urging that he be granted bail, Justice Karnan submitted that he urgently requires treatment for his ailments and that his condition may worsen if bail is not granted..Additional Public Prosecutor Prabavathi opposed the bail plea on behalf of the State, contending that Justice Karnan ought to have been aware of the consequences of his actions given his former high Constitutional post. She added that if Justice Karnan is released on bail, there is a likelihood of evidence and witness tampering. .The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry also made submissions in the matter, as an intervenor, to oppose the grant of bail. Senior Advocate S Prabakaran led the arguments for the Bar Council. .The Bar Council is a petitioner in another pending case before the High Court Bench headed by Justice M Sathyanarayanan, whereby the body had sought criminal action against Justice Karnan for his vituperative comments..Following this petition and the High Court's monitoring of the case, the Chennai Police had eventually arrested former Justice Karnan last December. The Bar Council's petition is being heard through physical hearing..Justice Karnan had served as a judge of the Madras and Calcutta High Courts, before he was held guilty of contempt of court by the Supreme Court for making unfounded allegations against the judges of the top court. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment in that case and was released from prison in December 2017..[Read Order]