Justice D.V. Shylendra Kumar of the Karnataka High Court, who first voluntarily declared his assets, has asked the Registrar-General to call a meeting for Saturday of all judges, including Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran, to discuss the “propriety, justification and desirability” of the Chief Justice to take administrative decisions when he has decided not to take up judicial matters.
Justice Kumar, who is currently sitting on the Circuit Bench at Gulbarga, faxed a letter to Registrar-General (RG) R.B. Budhihal and directed him to circulate a requisition on his behalf for holding a meeting of judges at 11 a.m., at the conference hall of the High Court.
“In the wake of the news that the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court is not sitting on the Bench and will not be discharging judicial functions until notified otherwise, I naturally expected that the Chief Justice will gracefully proceed on leave and will henceforth desist from exercising any functions which are part of the duties and responsibilities of a Chief Justice of the High court and even if one should not proceed on leave, I expected the Chief Justice not to exercise any authority and act on the administrative side of the High Court which power and authority is a very important incidental function of the Chief Justice,” Justice Kumar said.
The Chief Justice, he said, exercised vast and important powers on the administrative side also. “If a person is under a cloud, then it is highly desirable that the Chief Justice is prevented from exercising and using his powers on the administrative side also.”
Justice Kumar said that after he read the news that the Chief Justice would not henceforth exercise any judicial function until notified otherwise, he called the Registrar-General who informed him that the Chief Justice would continue to exercise his authority on the administrative side.
Justice Kumar said all judges of the High Court should sit and discuss the matter and take a collective decision.
Justice Kumar said he had learnt that Justice Dinakaran, before whom Mr. Budhihal had placed his letter, had declined permission for the Saturday meeting. “This is not a matter over which the Chief Justice should take a decision,” Justice Kumar said.
