Ending days of suspense on whether he would preside over judicial proceedings or not, Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court P.D. Dinakaran has decided not to sit on the Bench to take up judicial matters until further orders.
He has been facing charges of irregularities including encroachment on government land at Kaverirajapuram in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district.
He has been on leave for a week, and advocates and litigants have been waiting for him to take up cases.
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The last time the Chief Justice sat on the Bench was with Justice Anand Byarreddy. That was almost a week ago and since then he has not been presiding over court proceedings.
A notification saying the Chief Justice will not sit on the Bench to take up judicial matters was issued late on Wednesday evening by Registrar-General R.B. Budhihal.
A Division Bench consisting of Justices V. Gopala Gowda and B.V. Nagaratna, which sits in Court Hall No. 2, will take up urgent and date-given matters of Court Hall No. 1 until further orders.
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Advocates Association of Bangalore president K.N. Putte Gowda welcomed Justice Dinakaran’s decision and said it should have been taken long ago.