Justice Karnan released from Kolkata jail

Former Calcutta High Court judge C S Karnan was released on Wednesday from the Presidency correctional  home here after serving a six-month jail sentence, which was handed over to him by the Supreme Court for contempt.

Karnan was arrested from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu by a team of West Bengal CID on June 20.

The 62-year-old former judge's wife Saraswati and son Sugan received him outside the correctional home.

His close associate and advocate Mathew J Nedumpara was also present when he was released. From the jail, Karnan went straight to his residence in the city's satellite township, New Town in Rajarhat.

The former judge had the most unceremonious exit from the Calcutta High Court when he retired on June 12 as a fugitive.

He was later arrested from Tamil Nadu after he successfully remained behind the reach of the police for more than a month.

"While serving his sentence in prison, he was mostly spent his time writing his autobiography, which is almost complete. He will now take rest at his residence and after completing formalities related to his pension, he will be leaving for his native place in around a week or ten days. He has lost some weight, but is otherwise in good health," a family member said.

Justice Karnan had enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1983 and was appointed a judge of the Madras High Court in 2009.

He was transferred to the Calcutta High Court on March 11, 2016, as allegations piled up against him and he had several run-ins with the then chief justice and other judges of the court.

The Supreme Court had sentenced him to six months in jail for contempt of court on May 9 this year, while he was serving as a judge of the Calcutta High Court, earning him the dubious distinction of becoming the first sitting high court judge to be sentenced to jail.

Karnan's case had several twists and turns with a seven-judge bench of the apex court headed by the then Chief Justice of India ordering the West Bengal DGP to take the controversial judge of the high court into custody on the contempt case.

The Supreme Court had earlier issued a bailable warrant against Karnan to ensure his presence in the court in connection with the case.

The former judge appeared before the court and asked that his powers as a judge be first restored before assuring his re-appearance. His plea was rejected.