Justice Sirpurkar, Rao on Dinakaran panel opposed

NGO claims that the SC judges were known to Ktaka CJ

Campaign for judicial accountability and judicial reforms in a representation said, “Two of the members, viz., Justice V S Sirpurkar and P P Rao, senior advocate are persons who know Justice P D Dinakaran Premkumar quite well and therefore may not be fit to judge his conduct. 

Exclusion

The well known principle of “disqualification by association” leads to their automatic exclusion from being members of the Committee.’’

Justice Sirpurkar was a judge at the Madras High Court and knew Justice Dinakran during his stint there. On January 15, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari had constituted a three-member panel headed by Justice Sirpurkar to probe the allegations against Justice Dinakaran, who is facing probe.

Others in the panel

The other members of the panel are Justice A R Dave, Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court, and Rao, according to an announcement by the Rajya Sabha.

The Committee constituted under the Judges (Inquiry) Act would “make an investigation into the grounds on which the removal of Justice Paul Daniel Dinakaran Premkumar, Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court is prayed for,” a Rajya Sabha notification had said.