Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Justice V S Sirpurkar is to head a three-member committee to go into the issue of impeachment of Justice P D Dinakaran.
Justice A R Dave, Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court and noted jurist P P Rao are the other members of the Committee.
Vice-President Hamid Ansari had earlier admitted the notice by a group of 75 members of the Rajya Sabha to start impeachment proceedings against Justice Dinakaran.
The MPs belonging to BJP, Left parties, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (U), Akali Dal and AIADMK submitted the petition to Ansari seeking impeachment of Justice Dinakaran, whose elevation to the Supreme Court was put on hold.
The panel constituted under the Judges (Inquiry) Act would "make an investigation into the grounds on which the removal of Mr Justice Paul Daniel Dinakaran Premkumar, Chief
Justice of the Karnataka High Court is prayed for," a Rajya Sabha notification said.
Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan had told a news channel recently that though any judge who had such charges levelled against him was not fit to be elevated, there were no allegations againt Dinakaran when he his name was recommended for the apex court. Neither was it so when he was a judge in the Madras HC nor a Chief Justice of the Karnataka HC.
His elevation to the Supreme Court was jeopardised due to the charges of amassing disproportionate assets by allegedly encroaching 199 acres of land.
Dinakaran faces land grabbing charges and of late a team from Survey of India appointed by the Centre had initiated a probe againt him. In pursuit of the same, they had made inquiries from revenue officials of his village in Tamil Nadu.
Other allegations related to illegal encroachment on
government and public property to deprive Dalits and poor of
their livelihood, violation of human rights of Dalits and poor
and destruction of evidence during official enquiry.
Accusing the judge of abusing his judicial office, the
motion alleged that Justice Dinakaran passed dishonest
judicial orders in matters where he had personal and direct
pecuniary interest.
with PTI inputs
First Published: Saturday, January 16, 2010, 15:52