On the other hand, law minister Moily may be happy to get a chance to seek a restoration of the executive’s power to appoint judges - as was the practice till 1993.
Even before the brouhaha over the disclosure of judges’ assets has died down, the higher judiciary is facing its first crucial test: questions have been raised about the massive landholdings and urban properties held by the chief justice of the Karnataka high court, PD Dinakaran.
Justice Dinakaran is one of the five judges selected by the collegium of five senior Supreme Court judges headed by chief justice KG Balakrishnan for elevation to the Supreme Court.
With the prime minister’s office (PMO) reportedly taking serious note of the charges being levelled against justice Dinakaran, there is now a question-mark over whether he will get his promotion. Reliable sources indicate that the PMO has reopened the file relating to his elevation.
Grave charges have been levelled by the Committee on Judicial Accountability (COJA) in a letter to prime minister Manmohan Singh sent about 10 days ago. COJA comprises eminent lawyers such as Fali S Nariman, Ram Jethmalani, Shanti Bhushan, Anil Divan, Prashant Bhushan and Kamini Jaiswal.
COJA’s stand against Dinakaran is backed by the Tamil Nadu Forum for Judicial Accountability (FOJA), which has reacted sharply to the Supreme Court collegium’s decision on elevating justice Dinakaran. According to FOJA, justice Dinakaran defied Tamil Nadu’s landholding regulations and amassed over 500 acres of agriculture land. He also allegedly owns a splendid multi-storied house in his home state.
The collegium summoned justice Dinakaran last week, an uncontested report says, and questioned him about the charges. Informed sources say the CJI held a meeting at his residence on September 11 and sought justice Dinakaran’s explanation on the allegations.
The latter denied the charges and left for Bangalore. COJA and FOJA together dashed off letters to the PM, law minister Veerappa Moily, the chief justice, and other members of the collegium — justices BN Agrawal, SH Kapadia, Tarun Chatterjee and Altamas Kabir — urging them not to appoint justice Dinakaran to the SC.
Former law minister Shanti Bhushan is anguished at the prolonged silence of the Supreme Court judges and the government over the controversial judge’s proposed appointment to the apex court.``He must explain the allegations of disproportionate wealth. How did the money come? All this requires investigation,” says Bhushan.
In the letter to the prime minister, COJA says: “We have got very disturbing reports about the integrity of justice Dinakaran from very reliable sources. In this connection, we are enclosing a copy of the complaint by several responsible members of Tamil Nadu Bar to the collegium of the Supreme Court against his elevation which detail several instances indicating lack of integrity’’, it adds.
“We would, therefore, like you to inquire into it and get it investigated before his appointment is notified. You will agree that the consequences will be far more serious if a person lacking integrity is appointed as a Supreme Court judge than delaying the appointment of a person against whom the charges may not be eventually established’’, the top lawyers said.
The UPA government would not like to be ‘blamed’ for approving the appointment of a tainted person to the highest court, particularly when the prime minister and the law minister have called for “zero tolerance” for corruption in the administration, including the justice system.
On the other hand, law minister Moily may be happy to get a chance to seek a restoration of the executive’s power to appoint judges - as was the practice till 1993.
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