Kolkata: President Ram Nath Kovind faced the first appeal of his term, former Calcutta Supreme Court Judge C S Karnan, who sought remission of his six-month prison sentence.
Karnan was given six months by the Supreme Court for contempt.
Karnan’s lawyer, Mathews J Nedumpara, was quoted in earlier reports that they would make the “first petition physically and electronically presented” to the new president “within minutes” of his swearing-in.
Ram Nath Kovind was sworn in as the 14th president of India on Tuesday.
Karnan’s lawyer also said that the final draft of the petition to the new president was prepared on Monday.
Previously, Karnan had also written to the Governor of West Bengal Keshari Nath Tripathi seeking parole.
Karnan was arrested by the Kolkata police in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu on June 20 and taken to the national capital.
According to reports, the Supreme Court judge in Calcutta, who escaped from May 9, was transferred to Calcutta in transit.
On June 7, the Supreme Court had refused to grant Judge Karnan reparation in the case of contempt of court, in which he was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.
The appellate court on May 19 rejected Judge Karnan’s request to recall the six-month prison sentence, stating that the petition was not “viable” in court.
In June, Judge Karnan had approached the court of appeal seeking the withdrawal of the May 9 order, in which he was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison.
The superior court had taken suo-motu knowledge of numerous letters written by him against the judges of the Supreme Court of Madras and the apex court and restricted him from exercising administrative and judicial powers from 8 February.
Karnan is the first judge of a superior court in judicial history who has been sentenced to prison.
