The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hold an urgent hearing of the plea of Calcutta High Court's former judge C.S. Karnan for bail and the recall of order holding him guilty of contempt and sentencing him to six-month imprisonment.
Justice Karnan was arrested by the West Bengal Police on June 20 from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
The bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud refused to hold an urgent hearing, as Justice Karnan's counsel Mathew J. Nadumpar urged the court to constitute a bench to hear the former judge's plea for bail and recall of the apex court's May 9 order holding him guilty of contempt and sentencing him to six months' imprisonment.
"Declined. We will not accept an oral request against the judgment," the bench said.
Justice Karnan's arrest by the West Bengal Police came 42 days after the apex court on May 9 held him guilty of contempt and sentenced him to six months' imprisonment.
The day (May 9) the Supreme Court held him guilty of contempt and awarded him six-month jail term, Justice Karnan left Kolkata for Chennai.
The top court, in its order, had said: "We are of the unanimous view that Justice C.S. Karnan is guilty of contempt of court and (he) interfered with judicial process of grievous nature."
Justice Karnan was held guilty of contempt for his utterances against the Chief Justice of India and other judges of the apex court.