“The hands of law are quite long enough to catch anyone. I don’t think Justice Dinarakan is above the law, nor is he beyond the reach of the law,” Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily told reporters.
Moily’s remarks were in response to a question on the government’s view on Justice Dinakaran refusing to proceed on leave despite being asked by the Supreme Court collegium. Moily, however, refused to elaborate further.
Evasive on Sania
The minister also refused to drag himself into an issue pertaining to the Muslim marriage law when a reporter sought his comment on the controversy revolving around the proposed marriage of tennis star Sania Mirza with former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik. Moily said he had already been misquoted once when he gave a statement in Hyderabad recently.
“Are you all not tired of Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik?’’ he asked.
On April 1, the Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan had advised Justice Dinakaran to go on leave.
Since December last, Justice Dinakaran stopped performing judicial work and looked after only administrative functions after the impeachment motion was moved against him in Rajya Sabha.
Justice Madan B Lokur, acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, was appointed acting Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court.
The decision to advise Justice Dinakaran to proceed on leave was taken by the collegium after representations were submitted before the CJI that in the absence of the chief justice, judicial work in Karnataka has been suffering to a great extent.
Leave application
The Rajya Sabha appointed three-member committee headed by Justice V S Sirpurkar might take more than a year to complete the probe into charges against Justice Dinakaran.
However, it is learnt that Justice Dinakaran is yet to submit his leave application or formally inform the High Court Registrar General about his intention to go on leave. Ever since Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari admitted a motion seeking Justice Dinakaran’s impeachment on charges of alleged corruption, land grab and abuse of judicial office, the beleagured chief justice has not been performing any judicial functions.
Moily also said the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, would be amended to streamline the arbitration to resolve disputes between companies.
The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 deals with law relating to domestic arbitration, international commercial arbitration and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.
The object and the basis of the said Act is speedy disposal with least court intervention.
The appointment of arbitrators will be made more authentic and award of the arbitrator would be made more binding.
The award would only be challenged before the commercial courts to be set up at the high court levels, he said.
