New Delhi:
The probe against Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinankaran, facing land-grabbing and graft charges, is likely to be further delayed as the committee set up for the purpose seeking re-constitution of the panel in view of Justice A R Dave's elevation to the apex court.
Under the impeachment proceedings, the committee which probes the charges should comprise a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of a High Court and an eminent jurist.
At present, the committee, which was set up by the Rajya Sabha Chariman, consists of Justice V S Sirpurkar of the Supreme Court, Justice A R Dave, chief justice of the Bombay High Court, and eminent jurist P P Rao.
However, at a meeting held on Saturday at the residence of Justice Sirpurkar, it is understood the committee decided to write to the Rajya Sabha chairperson for reconstituting the panel in view of Justice Dave's elevation to the apex court.
The committee was constituted by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari after MPs from BJP, Left Parties, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (United), Akali Dal and AIADMK submitted a notice of motion for starting impeachment proceedings against Justice Dinakaran. The motion was admitted by Ansari on
December 17, 2009.
Under the Constitution, judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court can be removed from office only through impeachment in Parliament.
The allegations made against Justice Dinkaran relate to alleged possession of wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income, land-grabbing, entering into benami transactions, undervaluation of his property, illegal encroachment on government and public property to deprive Dalits and the poor of their livelihoods.
Justice Dinakaran has described the allegations as baseless and malicious to prevent his elevation to the Supreme Court after his name was recommended by the apex court collegium.
The judge has also defied the collegium's advice to proceed on leave and is not discharging his judicial functions for the past three months.