Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran, whom the local bar had asked not to sit in court proceedings till he is cleared of allegations of land grab, presided over the proceedings on Monday.
Since very few cases were posted for hearing, he sat for an hour, completed the proceedings in the court, which resumed work after a 16-day vacation, and then left for his chamber. The court proceedings went on smoothly without any protest from any quarter.
Justice Dinakaran had reportedly expressed unwillingness to sit on the Bench following a resolution passed by the Advocates Association of Bangalore asking him to refrain from attending or presiding over judicial proceedings until he was cleared of the charge.
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Ever since reports came of Justice Dinakaran being elevated to the Supreme Court, lawyers in Bangalore and Chennai have come out with allegations that he had grabbed land in Tamil Nadu in violation of the land ceiling laws.
While the local bar was divided, Advocate General Ashok Haranahally along with Additional Advocate General K.M. Nataraj and State Public Prosecutor Pavin met Justice Dinakaran last week and urged him to reconsider his decision.
Several High Court judges had also said they were also not willing to preside over court proceedings, saying even they could be targeted in future.
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Karnataka State Bar Council on October 2 passed a resolution referring the matter to the Chief Justice of India and the Supreme Court Collegium, appealing to them to take an “appropriate decision.”
Fissures had appeared in the Advocates Association on October 3 with a section of the lawyers seeking a review of the resolution, saying it was inappropriate and it amounted to interfering with the functions of a judge.