Govt steers clear of Maya's letter to PM on Dinakaran issue

The Centre on Saturday night steered clear of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention to ensure Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, facing impeachment, gets to present his views before initiating action against him.

The Centre on Saturday night steered clear of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention to ensure Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, facing impeachment, gets to present his views before initiating action against him.

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"The matter is in the stage of impeachment. I would not like to say anything on the issue," Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said. He was asked to comment on the letter written by Mayawati to Singh.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has admitted a notice of the impeachment motion by 75 Opposition MPs against Justice Dinakaran over allegations of amassing disproportionate assets and grabbing land.

The Chairman is expected to constitute a three-member committee comprising a Supreme Court judge, a high court chief justice and a jurist to examine the notice and give its views before the impeachment process is carried forward.

In her letter to Manmohan Singh, Mayawati asked him to give Justice Dinakaran gets an opportunity to put forth his views before any action is considered against him.

Denying an opportunity to the Chief Justice of Karnataka high court would be against the principle of natural justice, she added. Justice Dinakaran (59), who has kept away from judicial work, has ruled out his resignation and termed as "unfortunate" the impeachment motion against him.