Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court P.D. Dinakaran, who resigned on Friday, was earlier the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court and Judge of the Madras High Court.
In August 2009, the Supreme Court collegium recommended his elevation as a Judge of the Supreme Court along with four other High Court Chief Justices.
Soon after the announcement of his elevation, the Chennai-based Forum for Judicial Accountability sent representations to the former Chief Justice of India, K.G. Balakrishnan and other judges of the collegium that Justice Dinakaran had allegedly indulged in land grabbing in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvallur district.
The collegium dropped his elevation and shifted him as Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court.
Meanwhile removal proceedings were initiated in the Rajya Sabha following submission of petitions by members of Parliament to Chairman Hamid Ansari, who constituted a three-member probe panel.
It was initially headed by Justice V.S. Sirpurkar, Supreme Court Judge, who, however, resigned. Subsequently in September last Justice Aftab Alam, Supreme Court Judge, was appointed in his place with Karnataka Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and senior advocate P.P. Rao as Members.
On a writ petition alleging bias, the Supreme Court removed Mr. Rao from the panel and Prof. Mohan Gopal was appointed in his place. Even as the committee was to resume the probe on Saturday, Justice Dinakaran put in his papers.
The main allegation against Justice Dinakaran was that he had progressively encroached upon vast extents of government poromboke land, government ‘Anadhinam' land, waterbodies such as lakes, canals and streams, common village pathways and an ancient mud fortress abutting his patta land. There were also allegations of land-grabbing.
The charges framed by the probe panel include: possessing wealth disproportionate to the known sources of his income; unlawfully securing five Housing Board plots in favour of his wife and two daughters; entering into transactions prohibited and punishable under the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act, 1988; acquiring and possessing agricultural holdings beyond the ceiling under the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961; illegal encroachment on government and public property to deprive Dalits and the poor of their right to livelihood; violation of the human rights of Dalits and the poor; illegal construction in breach of the town planning law and planning permit; misuse of official position to unlawfully secure property and facilitate other illegal acts for personal gain; abuse of judicial office to pass dishonest judicial orders, contrary to settled principles of law, to favour a few individuals or for his own unjust enrichment, at the cost of the public exchequer and the country's natural resources; constituting Benches and fixing rosters of judges to facilitate dishonest judicial decisions and making arbitrary and illegal appointments and transfers.
