Supreme Court pulls up Karnataka judge, stands by Dinakaran

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday stayed the four controversial orders passed by a bench headed by Karnataka high court justice DV Shylendra Kumar, and observed that PD Dinakaran continues to remain the chief justice of the high court for all practical purposes, even though he is facing an inquiry that is seeking his removal.

Justice Dinakaran, who is facing charges of corruption, has refused to go on leave and resisted his transfer to Sikkim high court. But he is no longer hearing cases though as he continues to do administrative duties.

Lawyers in Karnataka want him to stop officiating as chief justice, and lawyers in Sikkim have objected to his posting there.

The SC’s observation that Dinakaran remains the chief justice came when it heard an appeal filed by the Karnataka HC against a bench headed by justice Shylendra Kumar for using “intemperate” language against Dinakaran and for threatening contempt action against the Karnataka HC registry.

A bench comprising justices Deepak Verma and KS Radhakrishnan said the suit concerned judicial discipline and it would be appropriate that it be heard by a bench headed by  Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia.

The SC observed that the high court bench headed by justice Kumar had not adhered to guidelines on how sitting judges are required to conduct themselves while dealing with judicial matters.“In fact, we think it would be inappropriate for any bench that any judicial matter be discussed in an extrajudicial manner,” the SC added.

In its petition, the Karnataka HC said the bench headed by Kumar was using “intemperate” language against Dinakaran for publicity and had “threatened to initiate contempt proceedings” against the registry if it did not comply with Kumar’s orders.

While hearing lawsuits relating to tax and customs, the bench led by Kumar had questioned the administrative decisions taken by justice Dinakaran and sought information from the Karnataka high court’s registrar general about the roster of judges and allocation of work to them. The SC said that for all practical purposes Dinakaran remains chief justice and it was his right to take administrative decisions.