Experience shows hundreds of people log in, jam the virtual court: Madras High Court to hear Former Judge CS Karnan's bail plea physically

Justice V Bharathidasan of the Madras High Court today decided to physically hear the bail application moved by former High Court Judge, CS Karnan in relation to his arrest for making derogatory remarks against Judges and women in videos circulated online..When the matter was briefly taken up this morning, the Judge expressed at the outset that he did not want to conduct a virtual hearing in the matter, given that past experience showed how hundreds of people logged into to the virtual court in such matters resulting in the court proceedings being jammed. .Justice Bharathidasan also observed that there were complaints from other Benches that the court proceedings were being recorded..Another bail application moved by Karnan before the Madras High Court was earlier dismissed as withdrawn. Appearing for Karnan in relation the second bail application now moved in the High Court, Senior Advocate G Rajagopalan today submitted that the former Judge is not in a good state of mind. ."He is suffering. He is under severe mental agony... he is not in a proper mental state", Rajagopalan submitted today.."We'll see it in the physical hearing", Justice Bharathidasan said, going on to add "you are only concerned with your...state of agony have you considered the agony undergone by the persons affected by that?".In response, Rajagopalan told the Court that Karnan is willing to give individual apologies for his conduct. The Court proceeded to post the matter for physical hearing on February 4 at 2.15 pm. .In his bail petition, Karnan has 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 adds. The petition goes on to state,."The petitioner submits that his undesirable acts of releasing videos against the members of the Higher Judiciary and members of the Bar, for which he regrets, is on account of an unstable and depressive mind. The petitioner further submits that if he had attended to his condition at an earlier point of time, this situation would not have arisen... The petitioner submits that he would render unconditional apologies to those who were offended by the videos, but in the present condition of his mind, he has been asked to avoid. The petitioner further submits that he is not making this statement to wriggle out of any proceedings ending against him, but only to show his bonafides and he knows that he is found to face the same.".While urging that he be granted bail, Karnan also submits that he urgently requires treatment for his ailments and that his condition may worsen if bail is not granted. .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..The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry has moved an intervention application in the matter. It may be noted that the Bar Council is a petitioner in another pending case before the High Court Bench of Justices M Sathyanarayanan and A Nakkiran, whereby the body had sought criminal action against 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. Notably, the Bar Council's petition is also being heard through physical hearing.