A section of members of Advocates Association of Bangalore (AAB) today openly came out in support of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P. D. Dinakaran, facing land grabbing charges, saying he should not be transferred and be allowed to resume judicial work.
The advocates will stage a protest here on Friday against the recent reported recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium to transfer Justice Dinakaran to Sikkim High Court.
The apex court’s decision had evoked strong protests in Sikkim with lawyers threatening to boycott his court. However, on April 13, Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Barin Ghosh was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court.
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“Over 500 lawyers would take part in the protest tomorrow and submit a representation to Governor H R Bhardwaj to appeal to the Collegium not to transfer Justice Dinakaran and direct him to resume judicial work,” B. K. Nagraj, spokesman of the lawyers, told reporters here.
Meanwhile, AAB president K. N. Puttegowda - who had welcomed the Collegium’s recommendation, dismissed the proposed protest as a “decision of a negligible few“.
“It is not a decision which has been taken by the AAB. A handful of supporters of Chief Justice Dinakaran have decided to take up his cause. It is of no consequence,” he told PTI.
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Justice Dinakaran, facing impeachment proceedings in Rajya Sabha, was recently asked by the Collegium to proceed on leave, but he had refused to fall in line.