Buta Singh jumps to the defence of beleaguered judge.
Days after the recommendation to elevate Karnataka chief justice PD Dinakaran to the Supreme Court kicked up a storm in the judicial circles, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes has sprung to his defence by accusing ``vested interests’’ of orchestrating an agitation to stop a dalit from going up the ladder.
The commission, headed by former Union minister Buta Singh, on Thursday accused the government of being ``silent on the vilification campaign’’ launched against the chief justice of India (CJI) KG Balakrishnan and the Karnataka chief justice, and threatened to ``take stock of the situation if the tirade did not stop’’.
Dinakaran, who is accused of amassing huge property, meanwhile, may face a probe. A decision is expected next week when the Supreme Court collegium meets after the dussehra break. Earlier, on September 18, the five-member collegium, led by the CJI, had discussed the charter of allegations submitted by the Committee on Judicial Accountability (COJA) and the Tamil Nadu Forum for Judicial Accountability (TNFOJA).
COJA has urged Law minister M Veerappa Moily to let the allegations be investigated by former Supreme Court judge justice N Santosh Hegde, who happens to be the Ombudsman for Karnataka. It’s learnt that a section of the judiciary with interest in the case is not averse to the suggestion. But it feels Hegde, who enjoys a good reputation, should probe the matter as a former judge, since the case does not come under the purview of the Ombudsman.
The government, sources said, is positive that some way to safeguards the reputation of the judge and also uphold independence of the judiciary will be found out.
A CBI probe into the matter does not find favour with the senior judiciary as it is time consuming. However, the idea of a probe panel including a former chief justice of the Karnataka high court, who is also a Supreme Court judge such as Justice Markandey Katju or justice AK Ganguly, and justice Hegde finds favour. This suggestion would satisfy COJA.
A recommendation made by the collegium can be returned by PMO for reconsideration but if it doesn’t make any change the government is bound by the decision. COJA says the 1993 judgment that empowered the judiciary to select and appoint judges also envisaged that the collegium would consult a judge who has been the chief justice of the high court from where the new incumbent belongs to.
Thus, the collegium decision without consulting either of the two sitting judges could be challenged in a court of law, a COJA member said.
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