Supreme Court notice to Rajya Sabha-appointed panel probing PD Dinakaran

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has issued notice to a Rajya Sabha-appointed panel probing allegations of corruption against Sikkim High Court Chief Justice PD Dinakaran.

Dinakaran in a petition to the SC had alleged that the panel had exceeded its jurisdiction in probing charges of judicial misconduct and corruption against him. A vacation bench comprising Justice GS Singhvi and Justice CK Prasad sought response of the committee on Dinakaran's plea which said that it had expanded the ambit of its probe beyond what was mandated by the motion passed by the upper house of Parliament.

The bench posted the matter for Wednesday. Earlier, the SC had stayed the pre-removal probe proceedings against Dinkaran on his plea alleging that such probe was biased against him. Justice Dinakaran had said such a panel cannot discharge its functions properly as one of its members, senior counsel and constitutional expert PP Rao, had opposed his elevation to the SC. The court then had asked the panel headed by SC judge Justice Aftab Alam and Rao to file their responses on such plea.

The panel also includes Karnataka High Court Chief Justice JS Khehar. Former Additional Solicitor General Amrendra Saran on behalf of the petitioner had told the court that Rao along with other lawyers had campaigned against the elevation of Justice Dinakaran to the Supreme Court. Rao was part of a delegation of the lawyers, which had met former CJI KG Balakrishnan, in 2009, to oppose the elevation of Justice Dinakaran, he had said.

“If there is reasonable likelihood of bias it is in accordance with natural justice and common sense that the judge likely to be so biased should be incapacitated from sitting... justice must not only be done but must also appear to be done,” Dinakaran said in his petition. The panel, appointed by Rajya Sabha chairperson Hamid Ansari, had asked justice Dinakaran to respond to 16 charges framed against him.