Dinakaran probe panel chief biased, say lawyers

A group of lawyers and transparency activists on Tuesday asked Supreme Court judge, Justice V S Sirpurakar, to withdraw from the Rajya Sabha appointed panel probing into the allegations of corruption against Justice P D Dinakaran. HT reports.

A group of lawyers and transparency activists on Tuesday asked Supreme Court judge, Justice V S Sirpurakar, to withdraw from the Rajya Sabha appointed panel probing into the allegations of corruption against Justice P D Dinakaran.

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Chennai-based Forum for Judicial Accountability in a formal application filed before the probe panel has pointed that Justice Sirpurkar, has been closely associated with the controversial judge since 1997.

"His (Justice Sirpurkar's) friendly association with Justice Dinakaran as narrated ..., gives rise to a reasonable ground to believe that there is a real likelihood of bias and that his neutrality as a Member of the Committee will be affected by his friendship," the petition says.

Rajya Sabha chairman, Hamid Ansari, had in January set-up a three-member probe panel headed by Justice Sirpurkar, after 75 opposition MPs had given a notice for impeachment of Justice Dinakaran in December last year.

The lawyers have stated that Justice Sirpurkar and Justice Dinakaran have been close associates since 13 years, when both of them were judges of the Madras High Court.

The forum, which has questioned the continuance of Justice Sirpurkar, said it filed petitions on March 11 before the panel seeking re-constitution of the committee.

"There has been no response to these petitions," the forum stated.