Two SC judges recuse from hearing Dinakaran's plea

A Supreme Court Bench on Thursday recused itself from hearing a plea by Sikkim High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran seeking  stay on the impeachment proceedings against him  by an inquiry panel.

A two-judge Bench comprising justices D K Jain and H L Dattu declined to hear the matter put up in the mentioning list meant for urgent hearing. “We are recusing. It (matter) will go in mentioning list for tomorrow,” the court said.

The Bench, however, did not give any reason for its decision of recusal. Justice Dinakaran had approached the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking direction for staying the impeachment proceedings before the Parliament-appointed inquiry committee on the charges of indulging in corruption and land grabbing.

The former chief justice of Karnataka High Court also sought from the apex court quashing of  the order of the panel declining his plea for the recusal of senior advocate P P Rao as a member on the ground that he was biased against him.

The panel, headed by Supreme Court’s Justice Aftab Alam and comprising Karnataka High Court Chief Justice J S Kehar and Rao, was appointed by Rajya Sabha chairperson Hamid Ansari after the House initiated impeachment motion against Justice Dinakaran.

It had asked Justice Dinakaran to respond to the 16 charges framed against him.
The charges included possession of wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income and illegal encroachment of public property and land belonging to Dalits and other weaker sections.

In his petition filed in the apex court, Justice Dinakaran challenged the proceedings before the inquiry panel, alleging that Rao was a member of a delegation of lawyers that l met the then Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan in 2009 to protest his elevation to the Supreme Court. On April 24, the panel rejected Justice Dinakaran’s plea against Rao saying the objection should have been raised at the start of the proceedings. Rao did not participate in the meeting when this application was discussed.

“The impugned order passed by the Judges Inquiry Committee allowing a biased member to be on the committee is hit by the principles of natural justice and, hence, violative of Article 14 of the Constitution,” Justice Dinakaran  said in his petition.

Justice P D Dinakaran, on April 26, had termed all charges against him “false, perverse and malicious” in the proceedings before the committee.