The Dinakaran impasse was finally brought to an end, atleast for the time being when President Pratibha Patil issued transfer orders pertaining to the transfer of Justice Dinakaran to the Sikkim High Court. The former Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court who is facing a probe into alleged land scam had caused an uproar when he refused to go on leave following the allegations against him. This in turn set off a long winded round of musical chairs among the upper echelons of the judiciary.

While Justice Dinakaran resumes his judicial duties in the Northeastern state, the three-member committee constituted by Vice President Hamid Ansari is yet to file a charge sheet against Justice Dinakaran. The committee headed by Justice V.S. Sirpurkar and consisting of newly appointed Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court J.S. Khehar and Senior Advocate P.P. Rao met last week. Media sources report that the committee plans on further deliberations on the allegations against Dinakaran before going ahead and filing the charge sheet. The large number of documents that the committee has to examine is also said to have added to the delay against the filing.

Notwithstanding his duties as a member of the probe committee, Justice J.S. Khehar was sworn in at the Raj Bhavan on Sunday, August 8 as the new Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court. The swearing in ceremony was administered by Governor H.R. Bharadwaj and saw the attendance of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S. Suresh Kumar and Lokayukta Justice N. Santosh Hegde. A large number of judges of the Karnataka High Court along with Senior Counsels and advocates were also present at the ceremony.

Justice Khehar was the Chief Justice of the Uttarkhand High Court who graduated in science from Government College, Chandigarh, in 1974 and pursued a degree in law from Punjab University in 1977. Two years later, he took his LL.M degree from the same institution. Justice Khehar was admitted to the Bar in 1979, and practiced in the High Courts of Punjab and Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and the Supreme Court of India.

With the state’s judiciary in shambles after the controversy and with nearly 172,000 pending cases before the High Court, Justice Khehar has his work cut out for him in turning around the judicial system of Karnataka. Justice Dinakaran on the other hand has to manage 85 cases that are pending before the Sikkim High Court.