Lawyers welcome Centre’s refusal to elevate Dinakaran
Lawyers in Bangalore have welcomed the Centre’s refusal to elevate Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran to the Supreme Court in the wake of charges of amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
With the Centre’s refusal, the legal community in the City hopes that Dinakaran will now quit voluntarily. If he does not, the lawyers will go ahead with their proposed boycott of courts. “We hope that the chief justice will uphold the dignity of the judiciary by resigning voluntarily. If this does not happen, I demand that the collegium initiate action by transferring him,” said K N Puttegowda, president, Advocates’ Association, Bangalore (AAB).
When asked about the future course of action, Puttegowda said the members were insisting that a general body meeting be convened to discuss the future strategy.
“I have been receiving calls from members to conduct the meeting, but it is better we adopt a wait-and-watch strategy regarding the decisions of the collegium and the Chief Justice of India (CJI),” he said. He added there was no change in the stance of the AAB.
Good news
Senior counsels, who have decided not to accept briefs seeking their appearance before the chief justice, too have welcomed the Centre’s decision. “Thanks to Law Minister Veerappa Moily; if the Supreme Court lawyers do not want him, we also do not want him to continue as chief justice,” said B V Acharya, former advocate general.
M S Padmarajaiah, senior counsel, said: “It is indeed good news. Even though the Supreme Court collegium is yet to decide, the Central Government acted diligently and in a responsible manner in the interests of justice and the country.”
Muniyappa, former vice-president, Karnataka State Bar Council (KSBC), said Dinakaran should quit.
“When we met the CJI earlier in this regard, he had told us it was up to the Central Government to act upon. Now it is clear,” he said.
However, Abdul Reyaz Khan, president, KSBC, when contacted said: “I have not seen the details. I will look into the details before taking a decision. We are planning a meeting on Monday.”
