Dinakaran should not preside till his name is cleared: Sorabjee

Eminent jurist and former attorney general of India Soli J Sorabjee today said that the Karnataka High Court chief  justice PD Dinkaran should not preside over judicial proceedings till his name is cleared of the land grabbing allegations.

The Chief Justice of India (CJI) has asked the Tamil Nadu authorities to submit a report on the allegations of land encroachment by Dinakaran. The report I believe has already been made. CJI has now ordered an inquiry into the matter.

"In the fitness of things, till the time he is cleared of the allegations, he (Dinakaran) should voluntarily desist from taking up judicial work," Sorabjee said on the sidelines of a function at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) here today.

"The real strength of judiciary is public confidence. If public confidence is diluted and shattered, the institution's credibility is affected," he said.

To a query on caste issue cropping up, Sorabjee shot back "what are these different issues cropping up....raising the caste issue is very unfortunate. The chief justice of supreme court himself belongs to scheduled caste. Why can't we think of merit. What we are concerned with is the integrity of the chief justice."

To a question on declaration of assets by judges, Sorabjee said, "It should be done, to my mind it should be done. Many have done it, others are falling in. In the present atmosphere where suspicion reigns, it is much better to set doubts at rest."

On corruption in judiciary, he said "the Dinakaran case should not lead to the conclusion that the judiciary is corrupt. Because of this, please do not jump to such a conclusion that corruption in judiciary is across the board.

"An overwhelming majority of our judges are honest and hardworking. They are people of integrity, they have sacrificed a lot. It is therefore unfair to tarnish them..," he said. Sorabjee called for giving more powers to the Lokayukta.

"Any enlightened chief minister who is determined to root out corruption, will say yes we must give him more powers. The investigating agency should have the power to investigate
without the sanction of the government."

On judicial services being made affordable to the common man, he said "Yes, some senior lawyers fleece to the extent of extortion. There has to be self-regulation. It must also be taken into account that some of the important cases were taken by eminent lawyers free of charge". 

Replying to a question on students being lured by international law firms, Sorabjee said, "This means your heart is not in the profession. You are not joining a business, it is service-oriented profession. If money is of prime importance, you should not take up law as a profession which is noble," he added.

On judicial activism, he said "judicial activism does not mean judicial adventurism. Judicial activism is not just going by the statue. It calls for transparency and accountability," Sorabjee said.