Lawyers in Karnataka were in for a surprise on Wednesday as news started filtering out that Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran made up his mind to conduct judicial proceedings in the High Court.
The Chief Justice, who is under a cloud, has not been presiding over the proceedings since November last, when advocates went on the rampage on the court premises demanding that he stop conducting the proceedings. But he has since been discharging administrative functions.
The Advocates Association of Bangalore had passed resolutions asking the Chief Justice to desist from attending to judicial work. Even a sitting judge, Justice D.V. Shylendra Kumar, writing on his blog, requested the Chief Justice to not only refrain from judicial proceedings but also cease doing administrative work.
However, on Wednesday, a breakaway faction of the legal fraternity, headed by the former MLA, K.N. Subba Reddy, set the ball rolling, demanding that the Supreme Court nominate a sitting Chief Justice or permit Justice Dinakaran to preside over the proceedings.
By noon, the association halls in the court were agog with rumours that the Chief Justice decided to sit in Court Hall no. 1 from Thursday. The rumours gained momentum after several judges met the Chief Justice. Towards the afternoon, one of the Registrars telephoned K.N. Putte Gowda, president of the Advocates Association of Bangalore, to say the Chief Justice wanted to preside over the proceedings and sought his cooperation. The Registrar also told Mr. Putte Gowda that several advocates had met the Chief Justice and urged him to conduct the proceedings.
A stunned Putte Gowda said a decision could be taken only by the general body. He then informed the other office-bearers of the association and called an executive committee meeting.
Several other members of the Bar were not enthused by the Chief Justice's decision. Pramila Nesargi, convener of the Karnataka chapter of the Forum for Judicial Accountability, hoped that the Chief Justice would heed the majority opinion of the advocates and refrain from presiding over judicial functions.
Justice Dinakaran sitting on the Bench would be appropriate only if he was cleared of the charges levelled against him, she said. Impeachment proceedings were still pending in the Rajya Sabha.
No change in circumstances
Advocate-General Ashok Harnahalli said there was no change in the circumstances to warrant the Chief Justice presiding over the court.
Sadashiva Reddy, member of the Karnataka State Bar Council, and scores of other advocates said they wanted Justice Dinakaran transferred and they would, under no circumstance, permit him to preside over judicial work.
The tension abated only in the evening when the cause list showed that the Chief Justice would not preside over the proceedings on Thursday.
