Land grabbing charges against Dinarakan: report in a week

A three-member Survey of India team appointed by the Centre to probe land grabbing charges against Karnataka Chief Justice P D Dinakaran today met his wife Vinothini and will submit its report in a week.

Maj Gen Shiva Kumar, heading the team which met representatives of Justice Dinakaran and the district administration, besides covering tracts of land on foot to map it, said they would take into account views of all those involved.

"It is too premature to comment on the issue. We will take into account views of all the parties involved," he told reporters after a meeting of the representatives at Tiruvelankadu in nearby Tiruvallore district.

Justice Dinakaran's wife Vinothini and her lawyers and a District Collector-led team of officials held separate discussions with the team to present their cases on the charges against the judge who is facing impeachment proceedings.

A CPI-M affiliated farmer's body has been spearheading the agitation against Justice Dinakaran and has demanded distribution of the alleged encroached land among landless farmers. They even tried to forcibly enter the land.

The District Collector, on the directions of Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan, had earlier sent reports on the land grabbing allegations, which has put a question mark on the elevation of Justice Dinakaran to the Supreme Court.

Justice Dinakaran has denied the charges, saying he would "come out clean" on the matter.

Supreme Court judge V S Sirpurkar has been named to head the three-member team to go into the issue of impeachment of Justice Dinakaran, whose removal has been sought by 75 opposition Rajya Sabha members over land-grabbing allegations.

The Union Government has said it has no role to play on the issue of impeachment process.

The elevation of Justice Dinakaran to the Supreme Court has been put on hold following charges of land grabbing and amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The Law Ministry had returned the Supreme Court recommendation for his elevation.