With Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court P.D. Dinakaran not attending court on Tuesday and the Supreme Court seeking a report of the Survey of India whether the judge encroached upon a large extent of government land in Tamil Nadu, a large media contingent camped in front of his residence off Seshadri Road in the city. When the Chief Justice did not turn up in court, rumours did the rounds of a team from the Survey Department having come to Bangalore.
The media was barred from entering the premises of the Chief Justice and TV channels had to make do with filming vehicles that entered and exited the residence of the Chief Justice. The visit of president of the All India Bar Association Adish C. Agarwal created a flutter. It was later known that Mr. Agarwal had come to Bangalore to invite Justice Dinakaran to a conference in Delhi on November 22 and 23.
When The Hindu spoke to the Survey Department in Bangalore, it categorically denied having sent any official from its establishment to verify the land records of Mr. Dinakaran.
Meanwhile, the office-bearers of the Advocates Association of Bangalore formally wrote to the Chief Justice of India urging him to take a quick decision on the issue relating to elevation of Justice Dinakaran to the Supreme Court.
The letter is signed not only by the office-bearers but also several senior advocates like R.N. Narasimha Murthy, B.V. Acharya, A.N. Jayaram and S. Vijay Shankar (all former Advocates-General), D.N. Nanjunda Reddy, P. Mahale, T.R. Subbanna, N. Devadas, G.V. Shantaraju and Pramila Nesgari.
The letter states the matters in Bangalore may go out of control of the association if an expeditious decision is not taken on the issue. It says if an expeditious decision is not possible, Mr. Dinakaran may be advised to desist from taking up any judicial work. In a related development, a handful of advocates staged a dharna in front of the office of the Karnataka State Bar Council urging it to ensure that the council members did not flout its resolution and take unilateral decision to go on a fast.
