On Friday, president Pratibha Patil issued orders transferring the chief justice of the Karnataka high court, PD Dinakaran, as the chief justice of the Sikkim high court. With this, the over nine-month-long impasse in the high court ended. Chief justice of the Uttaranchal high court, JS Khehar, has been appointed chief justice of the Karnataka high court. The transfer orders came in accordance with recommendations of the Supreme Court collegium.
In November 2009, controversy broke out in the Karnataka high court as a group of senior advocates including Ram Jethmalani and V Palanikumar made known details of land encroachment by chief justice PD Dinakaran. The district collector of Thiruvallur near Chennai corroborated the allegations, submitting a report to the Supreme Court that justice Dinakaran had encroached 197 acres of public land around his property in Kaverirajapuram village, blocking off access to government land.
The allegations of encroachment were levelled in the wake of the August 2009 recommendations of the Supreme Court collegium to elevate chief justice PD Dinakaran to the Supreme Court. In September 2009, the Advocates’ Association of Bangalore (AAB), made demands that the chief justice refrain from conducting court proceedings until his name was cleared. The Centre then put on hold the decision to elevate chief justice Dinakaran to the Supreme Court.
On December 1, under pressure from the advocates and public opinion, the chief justice announced his decision to refrain from conducting judicial proceedings. About a fortnight later, impeachment proceedings were begun against him in Parliament. A three-member panel was appointed by the Rajya Sabha to examine the allegations against the chief justice. In April this year, the Supreme Court collegium instructed the chief justice to proceed on leave. It also recommended his transfer to the high court of Sikkim.
Reacting to news of chief justice PD Dinakaran’s transfer, KN Putte Gowda, president of the AAB, said, “This vindicates the stand taken by the advocates’ association. We are grateful to judges of the Supreme Court. Our sole aim was to protect the judiciary.”
Sadashiv Reddy, former chairman of the Karnataka Bar Council, said, “We have requested the chairman of the Bar Council not to give chief justice Dinakaran a farewell. The judiciary in the state will be strengthened once the new chief justice takes charge.”
