Ex-judge Karnan complains of chest pain, taken to hospital

Former Calcutta High Court judge Justice C.S. Karnan, who was sent to Presidency Jail in Kolkata on Wednesday, was taken to the SSKM Hospital here after he complained of chest pain.

Sources said the beleaguered judge, who was arrested a day ago from Coimbatore by the West Bengal CID officials in a case of contempt of court, complained of illness on Wednesday evening after being brought to the jail directly from the Kolkata airport.

"He was taken to SSKM Hospital for conducting some tests as he complained of chest pain," a Presidency Correctional Home (jail) official said.

Earlier at the Kolkata airport, the CID officials who brought Karnan from Tamil Nadu, said his medical tests were completed at the airport and no irregularities were found.

The controversial judge, who was sentenced to six months' imprisonment on May 9 for contempt of court by the Supreme Court and had remained untraceable, was brought to Kolkata from Chennai in a plane around 3.00 p.m. on Wednesday and was taken directly to the Presidency Jail.

Justice Karnan's arrest came 42 days after the apex court on May 9 held him guilty of contempt for his utterances against the Chief Justice of India and other judges of the apex court and action against them, and sentenced him to six months in jail.

However, the same day Justice Karnan left Kolkata for Chennai and had remained underground and virtually untraceable since then.

He retired from the service earlier this month.

--IANS

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