Justice Dinakaran charge sheet 16 charges of corruption against Sikkim Chief Justice

It’s an endgame for Sikkim High Court Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran.The Rajya Sabha constituted panel has finally slapped 16 charges of corruption and irregularities on Justice Dinakaran, who is currently facing impeachment proceedings in Parliament..It’s an endgame for Sikkim High Court Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran (pictured). The Rajya Sabha constituted panel has finally slapped 16 charges of corruption and irregularities on Justice Dinakaran, who is currently facing impeachment proceedings in Parliament..The Tribune reports that the charges against him include possession of wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income, illegal encroachment on public property and land belonging to Dalits and other weaker sections, holding five Tamil Nadu Housing Board plots in favour of wife and two daughters, proxy transactions, acquiring and possessing agricultural holdings beyond the ceiling fixed by the TN Land Reforms Act, 1961 destruction of evidence, undervaluation of sale agreements, evasion of stamp duty and illegal constructions..This apart, Justice Dinakaran has been accused of resorting to irregular and dishonest administrative actions by fixing rosters of judges to facilitate dishonest judicial decisions while he was the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court..The committee comprising of Supreme Court Justice Aftab Alam, Karnataka High Court Justice K.S. Khehar and eminent jurist P.P. Rao issued the charge-sheet to Justice Dinakaran on March 16 and have sought his response by April 9. Justice Dinakaran has been granted the liberty to engage a lawyer of his choice to defend himself. After hearing Justice Dinakaran, the committee will send its report to the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President..Justice Dinakaran faced the impeachment motion when he was Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court and recommended for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court in August 2009. Justice Dinakaran was refused elevation to the Supreme Court by the government despite the recommendation of the collegium headed by then Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan. The impeachment motion was admitted by the Rajya Sabha against him in December 2009 following which Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari constituted the panel to probe the allegations. Later, he was transferred to the Sikkim High Court..Initially, another Supreme Court Judge V.S. Sirpurkar was appointed to head the panel but he was forced to recuse after the Madras Bar Association and various lawyers forum sought his recusal on the ground that he had worked with Justice Dinakaran in the Madras High Court..The impeachment proceedings under the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968 are an exercise for his removal from office. Justice Dinakaran will retire in May 2012 and if the impeachment proceedings do not materialise till then, the entire exercise will become futile.