Pressure on Justice Dinakaran is mounting at all fronts, and despite having been criticized by several senior jurists, lawyers having boycotted his court, the government advising adversely, and the collegium taking an unreasonably long time to decide on his elevation, he has stuck through it all, making mild protests on not more than two occasions.

Last week we had reported about Senior Counsel Prashant Bhushan petitioning the Members of the Rajya Sabha to impeach Justice Dinakaran. At the end of Saturday, atleast 66 members of the Rajya Sabha belonging to the opposition had signed Bhushan's petition, the minimum number required to move the Parliament to impeach a judge. Once the petition is verified by the secretariat, a committee will be set up for considering the petition. Several members of the opposition, including Sitaram Yechury, of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has suggested that the opposition might be presenting the petition this week.

The Congress party is yet to decide on the impeachment of Dinakaran. In an earlier impeachment proceeding against Justice V. Ramaswamy for miscounduct, the Congress party had abstained from voting, defeating the motion. Whether it is the same this time around, only time will tell.

Meanwhile, the case in favour of making the judicial appointment system transparent is gaining momentum. At the Dr. Kailas Nath Katju Memorial Lecture, keynote speaker and eminent jurist, Fali S. Nariman expressed regret for having succeeded in the 1994 Judges case. It was the Judges case that bestowed the power to select members of the Higher Judiciary, upon the collegium comprising judges of the Supreme Court. "There is a need to change the system," said Nariman.

Meanwhile, former Chief Justice of India, J.S. Varma on Saturday said that "no doubtful person" ought to come up in the judiciary. While Justice Dinakaran's elevation unlikely, so is his impeachment. Irrespective of the outcome of the Justice Dinakaran matter, what is certain is that the system will soon see a change.