The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed former Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court P.D. Dinakaran’s plea challenging the Rajya Sabha-appointed committee’s decision to frame charges against him by allegedly exceeding its jurisdiction.
A Bench headed by Justice G.S. Singhvi also rejected his contention that the panel has no power to conduct preliminary inquiry against him.
Justice Dinakaran, who resigned from the post in view of impeachment proceedings against him, had contended the committee had exceeded its jurisdiction by framing 14 charges on the basis of fresh complaints whereas there were only 12 charges at the time when the motion was introduced in Parliament.
The former judge, who faces various charges including amassing disproportionate wealth and judicial misconduct, had alleged the fresh charges were “ultra vires” as they went beyond the original charges contained in the Rajya Sabha motion.
“It will be naive to contend that the committee has no discretion in the matter of framing charges. Rather, the committee is duty-bound to carefully scrutinise the material forming part of the notice of motion and then frame definite charges. The committee can also receive other material which may support or contradict the allegations enumerated in the notice of motion,” the Bench said.
Keywords: Justice Dinakaran, judicial accountability, removal proceedings, impeachment, land encroachment, Dinakaran impeachment, land grabbing charges
