Tainted judge Dinakaran faces impeachment move by opposition MPs

Justice P D Dinakaran, the tainted chief justice of the Karnataka high court, may finally be on his way out. On Monday, 75 Rajya Sabha members, including all the opposition parties but not the ruling UPA, submitted a petition to house chairman Hamid Ansari seeking Dinakaran's impeachment.

Dinakaran has for some time been facing allegations of land grabbing and amassing wealth beyond his known sources of income. While a recent recommendation to elevate him to the Supreme Court was blocked by the government, the matter has raised a national debate about the difficulty of impeaching corrupt judges under current laws.

BJP leader S S Ahluwalia said the notice seeking Dinakaran's impeachment has the signatures of MPs from the BJP, Janata Dal (United), Shiromani Akali Dal, Asom Gana Parishad, Biju Janata Dal, the Left parties, Samajwadi Party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Telugu Desam Party.

Under constitutional procedure, the chairman is now required to constitute a committee of three people - a sitting Supreme Court judge, a high court chief justice and a jurist - to inquire into the charges and submit the report to the house.

If they find the judge guilty and recommend his removal, the matter is sent for voting to Parliament where the motion has to be approved by a two-thirds majority of each house present and voting, and an absolute majority of the total membership of each house.
 
Ahluwalia said the constitution "is silent" about the time frame to set the process in motion and constitute the committee. "Let's see what action he (the chairman) takes," he told reporters in Parliament House.

Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said, ''At the initiation process, it is not necessary for everybody to take a stand. We will take an appropriate stand on the issue at the appropriate time.''