Dinakaran case judge recuses himself from hearing

New Delhi: Justice V S Sirpurkar, who heads the Rajya Sabha-appointed panel going into the impeachment issue against Sikkim High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, on Thursday recused himself from hearing the case in the backdrop of questions raised on his neutrality by an advocacy group.

Sirpurkar, a senior Supreme Court judge, met Rajya Sabha

Chairman and Vice-President Hamid Ansari requesting that he be

recused from the panel.

Sources said Ansari has asked Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia to nominate a panel of judges from which he could select a judge to replace Sirpurkar.

Ansari had set up a three-member committee headed by Sirpurkar in January to go into the impeachment of Justice

Dinakaran, a demand for which was made by 75 members of the

Rajya Sabha.

Besides Sirpurkar, the panel comprises Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court J S Khehar and senior advocate P P Rao. Chennai-based Forum for Judicial Accountability, which has been spearheading a campaign against Justice Dinakaran, has petitioned the committee objecting to the continuance of Justice Sirpurkar in the panel.

It has contended that Sirpurkar has been closely associated with Justice Dinakaran when both of them were judges of the Madras High Court.

Allegations listed in the impeachment motion against Justice Dinakaran include possessing wealth disproportionate to known sources of income, unlawfully securing five housing board plots in the name of his wife and two daughters and entering into ‘benami’ transactions.

The charges against him also include acquiring and possessing agricultural holdings beyond the ceiling limit. Justice Dinakaran has refuted the allegations.

Justice Dinakaran's recommendation for elevation to the apex court was dropped after allegations of land grabbing and misconduct surfaced. He was moved from the Karnataka High Court to the Sikkim High Court as Chief Justice.