Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court P.D. Dinakaran on Friday resigned from his post, ahead of the commencement of the removal proceedings by the three-member panel on Saturday.
The panel revived the probe after the Supreme Court dismissed his writ petitions and is yet to give its verdict on one petition.
Justice Dinakaran, who will attain the age of superannuation in May 2012 sent his resignation letter to President Pratibha Patil, with a copy to Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia. (Under Article 217 (a) of the Constitution, a Judge of the High Court “may by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office.”)
As a result of his resignation, the removal proceedings initiated under the Judges Inquiry Act pursuant to a motion admitted in the Rajya Sabha will become infructuous.
Informed sources told The Hindu that Justice Dinakaran was upset that he was being targeted as he belonged to the lower caste and “the system does not grant him any support.”
He is understood to have said in his resignation letter: “I have a sinking suspicion that my misfortune was because of my circumstances of my birth in the socially oppressed and under privileged society. Integrity of members of these communities who attain high office is always baselessly questioned through innuendo, smearing and spreading of false rumours while the privileged are treated by the vested interests as embodiment of all virtues.
“In order to maintain the dignity of office I am holding and to prove that I do not have any lust for the office, position and power, I do not want to adopt any dilatory tactics. I am submitting my resignation.”
Keywords: Justice Dinakaran, land grab, Sikkim High Court, impeachment proceedings, judicial accountibility
Justice Dinakaran was upset that he was being targeted as he belonged to the lower caste and & the system does not grant him any support. If a person in the position of chief justice of a State thinks like this, then the chances of reducing corruption in India is next to zero even god cannot help India to save it from corruption.
It is unfortunate Mr Paul Daniel Dinakaran is putting the blame on his caste. As a socially oppressed and under previlaged he could become a lawyer, judge and even a high court judge. There are many good socially oppressed people doing sincere and honest work.
This is about corruption and misuse of power. Does the constitution of India give right to socially backward people to be corrupt and not punished for it?
Anyone who commits a crime is punished, no matter what is your social status.
It is a very sad day for the Indian judiciary, when a judge feels forced to resign in this manner. Regardless of the merits of the case, clearly Mr.Dinakaran's activities outside the court invited the current controversy. It is sadder still when he impugns his predicament to the circumstances of his birth - ironically the same circumstances that helped him reach the pinnacle of the judicial system.
His misfortune, as he chooses to characterize it, is unfortunately one of his own making. That nobody is above the law is a reality that is only dimly understood in present day India. Perhaps in better times, a person of his intelligence would have more acutely perceived the majesty of the law and avoided coming to grief in this way.
Mr.Dinakaran should defend himself of the charges in a court of law, and be prepared to face the consequences if any are proved against him.
regards,
CSV
If he indeed held the view that he had to protect the integrity of the position he held, he should have resigned long back when he was transferred to Sikkim away from the glare of the media (as if Sikkim is in another country, which is a different story)
Also, if he was socially repressed or underprivileged, wonder how he rose to the top of the system?
In any case, I hope the criminal proceedings against him don't get stalled just because he resigned from his post.
Bringing up the caste card is so unfortunate. Whereas the really oppressed section of his caste may never see the light of the day, Dinakaran and his future generation will continue to enjoy the benefits of reservation forever to come.
Justice Dinakaran should have waited till the outcome of the reportby Rajya Sabha Panel. At one stage he said that Senior Advocate P R Rao is biased, so he was changed. WHY this sudden decision of putting the papers. Will feel happy if I am enlightened
What happens now to the illegally grabbed lands. Will they be confiscated from his possession and returned to the rightful owners ? Or now that he has resigned, no further action would be deemed necessary and he will be allowed to go scott free enjoying ownership of the illegally possessed properties?
Does this meet the ends of Justice?
It has become a fashion to take shelter under the caste and religion whenever one is found corrupt. Instead, they should stand stubborn till they are proved not guilty.
Sorry, Mr Dinakaran, your actions have not proved at all what you say in your resignation. If you did fell what you say, you should have resigned a long long time ago, or come out with facts to support how you have been maligned wrongly. In fact, I do not think the law should allow resignations to be accepted in such cases, and the process of enquiry should run its course and then appropriate action should be taken.
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