'No decision yet on Dinakaran for apex court'

Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan on Sunday denied that Karnataka High Court's Chief Justice PD Dinakaran's name has been dropped from the list of judges being considered for promotion to the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan on Sunday denied that Karnataka High Court's Chief Justice PD Dinakaran's name has been dropped from the list of judges being considered for promotion to the Supreme Court.

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"We have only asked that the names of four other judges be processed for their appointment as judges of the Supreme Court," Balakrishnan told reporters on the sidelines of an All-India Conference of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) at Vigyan Bhawan.

Asked if that implied Justice Dinakaran, facing charges of land-grabbing, has been dropped from the list, Balakrishnan replied: "No, no, no, no."

Law Minister M Veerappa Moily also refused to categorically say if Justice Dinakaran will not be considered for the post of apex court judge.

A panel of the apex court's five senior most judges, including Balakrishnan, has at least temporarily suspended the move to elevate Justice Dinakaran after district collector of Tiruvallur in Tamil Nadu reportedly indicted him for possessing approximately 500 acres of land at Kaverirajapuram.

The apex court collegium, later, however, ordered a discreet probe into the allegations against Justice Dinakaran and put his elevation on hold.