New Delhi: Former Madras High Court judge C.S. Karnan, who became the first sitting high court judge to be sentenced to imprisonment for contempt of court, passed away in Chennai on Friday (November 13). He was 71. According to reports, Karnan had recently been admitted to a hospital following health complications. He died on Friday morning after failing to respond to treatment.Born in 1955 in Karnatham village in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district, Karnan graduated from Madras Law College in 1983 and practised as an advocate before being appointed an additional judge of the Madras high court in March 2009. He became a permanent judge in 2011.His judicial career was marked by repeated confrontations with fellow judges and the Supreme Court. He had alleged caste discrimination and harassment by fellow judges, including then Madras high court chief justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul. Karnan repeatedly alleged that he faced caste-based discrimination and harassment within the judiciary on account of his being Dalit.Justice Karnan had said he would go to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes against Justice Kaul for “harassing” him.In 2014, he controversially intervened in ongoing proceedings before a Madras high court bench hearing a PIL concerning judicial appointments, objecting to the selection process and alleging unfairness.The Supreme Court observed, regarding this behaviour, reports Live Law, “The sudden unfamiliar incident made us fume inwardly on this raw unconventional protest that was unexpected, uncharitable and ungenerous and, to say the least, it was indecorous.”Also read: Citing Justice Karnan Ruling, Modi Government Urges SC to Revisit Judge Selection ProcessIn November 2015, Justice Karnan wrote to the chief justice of Madras high court with copies to the CJI and to the President, accusing the then chief justice of giving him “insignificant” and “dummy” portfolios and expressed the desire to go on long leave.Twenty judges of Madras high court then wrote to the CJI requesting Justice Karnan’s transfers. In 2016, he was transferred to the Calcutta high court, but challenged the transfer order.In January 2017, Karnan wrote to the prime minister accusing several sitting and retired judges of corruption. The Supreme Court initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against him after he issued orders against its judges.On May 9, 2017, a seven-judge bench headed by then Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar found him guilty of contempt and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment. This came a day after he delivered an order sentencing the then CJI and seven judges of the Supreme Court to five years’ rigorous imprisonment. He was arrested later that year after remaining untraceable and was released in December 2017.Following his retirement, Karnan entered politics and faced arrest over videos containing derogatory remarks against judges and women judicial officers.