Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The Central government on Saturday rejected the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium to promote Karnataka High Court Chief Justice PD Dinkaran as a judge of the country’s apex court.
Sources in the Law Ministry said the file recommending the elevation has been returned to the Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan with a request to the collegium to reconsider the decision.
The government step comes amid pressure from the Bar Association of India to drop the Karnataka HC CJ, who is facing allegations of corruption.
Though Balakrishnan had wanted the Centre to conduct an independent probe into allegations of land encroachment by Justice Dinakaran, the government however felt that no further inquiry should be called for as there was enough material to arrive at a conclusion.
Law Minister Veerappa Moily, when contacted for his comments on the development, said, "I would not like to comment on an issue which deals with the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. It is not appropriate (to say anything).”
The Law Ministry sent its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is understood to have agreed with its perception and wanted the collegium to reconsider its recommendation.
In August this year, the collegium had recommended the name of Dinakaran along with chief justices of four other high courts. While Dinakaran`s name was kept on hold, four others were elevated to the Supreme Court recently.
Last month, Balakrishnan had said that the Union government should decide whether Dinakaran should be elevated to the Supreme Court. The CJI had asked the Centre to look into the allegations of land grab, encroachment and judicial impropriety against Justice Dinakaran.
Justice Dinakaran is facing several charges including a disproportionate assets case. He is also charged with amassing 440 acres of land worth Rs 110 crore in Tiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu, part of which was government land.
The most recent allegation against him was that he ruled in favour of his friends in a land dispute case.
