New Delhi, December 5
The Supreme Court collegium, headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, is unlikely to insist on the elevation of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice PD Dinakaran to the apex court following government’s rejection of its earlier recommendation for his appointment.
According to sources, since the collegium system has already come under criticism from within the legal fraternity for recommending the name of Justice Dinakaran, it is expected to endorse the government’s view that it is not proper to elevate someone whose integrity has been questioned.
The CJI himself had asked the government to have the complaints of encroachment of land by the judge verified through independent sources, indicating readiness of the collegium to review its earlier recommendation if the charges were found to be true following such a probe.
The Law Ministry had taken the help of the Intelligence Bureau to get a quick verification done, instead of going for a detailed investigation. After the IB inputs somewhat corroborated the two reports of a Tamil Nadu Collector that the judge had indeed grabbed about 200 acres of state government land, the ministry prepared a report and sent it to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Meanwhile, various Bar associations, including those of the SC, Tamil Nadu and Bangalore, were mounting pressure on the government and the collegium to immediately abandon the move to elevate Justice Dinakaran, arguing that charges of corruption could never be proved conclusively.
Particularly when such charges were levelled against a judge, the very fact that the collector had confirmed these in not one but two reports and that the judge concerned was not enjoying a good reputation with the Bar was sufficient to drop the elevation process. In fact, there was need to assess the wisdom in allowing him to continue even in his present position, legal luminaries like Fali S Nariman had argued.
Apparently, sensing the mood of all those involved in the legal system, the PMO also veered round to the view that Justice Dinakaran should not be brought to the apex court in the light of the collector’s reports and the IB inputs. Now, the file is back with the SC collegium of five senior-most judges. If the collegium wants, it can insist on acceptance of its earlier recommendation. If this is done, the government is bound to forward the file to Rashtrapati Bhavan for his formal appointment. But this is unlikely.
