Govt caught off guard on Dinakaran transfer case

The government seems to be in a tricky situation following the recommendation by a panel of five seniormost judges in the country — the Supreme Court collegium — to transfer Justice P D Dinakaran to Sikkim. A report by Nagendar Sharma.

The government seems to be in a tricky situation following the recommendation by a panel of five seniormost judges in the country — the Supreme Court collegium — to transfer Justice P D Dinakaran to Sikkim.

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In a sudden move, the collegium on Thursday night reversed its April 1 decision, in which it had advised the controversial Karnataka High Court Chief Justice to proceed on leave.

Faced with protests from lawyers in Sikkim, highly placed sources in the government admit that the implementation of the collegium recommendation would not be an easy job.

Law ministry officials have expressed surprise at the way the collegium first decided to advise Justice Dinakaran to proceed on leave, and then converted it into a transfer.

"Situation has been same since seven months. We are trying to understand the reason for the sudden urgency with which the decision was taken and reversed," said a senior law ministry official.

"In a sensitive north-eastern state like Sikkim, many factors have to be taken into consideration and the transfer issue has evoked a strong reaction," he said.

The government can return the collegium's recommendation once for reconsideration, but sources in the government said no view had yet been taken on how to deal with the issue.

The Bar Association of Sikkim — in a resolution to the President, the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India — has demanded that the collegium's recommendation be reconsidered, keeping in mind the charges of corruption against Justice Dinakaran.