“The strange case of Justice P.D. Dinakaran” has taken a strange turn. A group of advocates and activists in Tamil Nadu are alleging that the chief justice of the Karnataka High Court is the victim of a motivated vilification campaign. That his character is being assassinated because he is a Dalit.
“The real agenda is to prevent a member of a backward community from entering the ‘sanctum sanctorum’, now a monopoly of the upper castes,” K. Veeramani, general secretary of Dravida Kazhagam, the parent organisation of the DMK, has been quoted as saying.
The figleaf was provided by the veteran jurist Shanti Bhushan, who was among the legal eagles who brought the memorandum of charges prepared by the Madras-based Forum for Judicial Accountability to the notice of the chief justice of India, K.G. Balakrishnan, also a Dalit.
In an interview to The Pioneer, Delhi, Bhushan is reported to have said:
“It is inexplicable on the part of the CJI as to why he is not consulting the judges of the Supreme Court, like Justices M. Katju and A.K. Ganguly, under whom Dinakaran has served. So many lawyers are making allegations against him. Why is he (CJI) so keen to get him (Dinakaran) appointed? Perhaps the reason may be that he is a Dalit. We cannot say.”
An imputation of favouritism was also made by the SC lawyer Rajeev Dhavan in an article in Mail Today, after Justice Dinakaran excused himself from a tour to Australia once the scandal broke:
“Justice Dinakaran has declared that he will not accompany the ‘judges exchange’ delegation to Australia. There is a lot to doubt whethere he deserved to be a delegate over others in the first place. Someone seems to have a soft spot for him.”
Questions: Is Justice Dinakaran being because he is a Dalit? Or is this a lame attempt to give the controversy a caste colour to shield the judge? Should a Dalit be excused if he is accused of land grabbing, corruption, abuse of office and lack of probity merely because he is a Dalit? Is a Dalit entitled to take away lands of other Dalits, as is being alleged, because he is a Dalit?
Also read: The strange case of Justice P.D. Dinakaran
churumuri 
# Religion and Caste are fast becoming the refuges of the high and mighty who are cornered and unable to escape…
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Dalit or otherwise, as a judge Dinakaran and for that matter any other judge should be above suspicion. As any lawywer with a conscience and experience and you would hear that the judiciary is not untouched by corruption.
If Dinakaran claims he was already rich, and therefore needs not to be corrupt, then pray what are the sources of his income? The least he owes to himself is to clear his name by coming clean, with documents and bank statements.
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I am a little confused by your poll.
Post Title – Is Dalit Dinakaran above law?
Poll Question – Is Justice P.D. Dinakaran being targeted because he is a Dalit?
These are two very different questions.
Bhushan “playing the caste card” sets a very dangerous precedent. I am not too sure if it is in the interest of justice. For somebody like Bhushan to insinuate that the CJI discriminates based on caste without backing it up is not smart. He might have let Dinakaran slip between the fingers.
We should go after and Dinakaran. Not because of his caste affiliation but because of the corruption. Please do not bring caste into it.
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Respect the post. No need to bring caste into discussion. Money and corruption has no caste, creed or colour. Money is money. Misdeed is misdeed. Please refrain from bringing caste factor into the judiciary. So far nobody has asked as to which caste a judge belonged.
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@ Sathya, Sir, you are sadly mistaken
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The query I posted in a different post related to this subject remains unaswered….How is Paul Dinakaran who is a converted Christian be still a Dalit..Can some one explain this.
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bold headline — congratulations, churumuri.
the political abuse of “backwardness” in urban india has turned into one of the biggest impediments to social emancipation. it’s about time journalists called it out.
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>>>>Is Justice Dinakaran being because he is a Dalit?
Churmuri are you serious??
This is the same SC which were so worried about voluntary disclosure. The same thugs are now worried?? Na.
Remember how urgently they take up venugolpa case, as if most important??
Remember the doctors agitation??
These are the interst most to the heart of the SC, they don’t want to compromise on these, by bringing a dalit.
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yes, what Pharoah asks is correct. How can Paul Dinakaran be dalit if he is a christian ? Is Churumuri trying to mislead its readers ?
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Oh no… not the Mayawati defence again!!!
I think I am going to throw up…
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Dinakaran is a Dalit? I did not know. Sorry about it! Brahmins are at HIM!
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yo khan, before you get all excited and work yourselves into a conspiratorial frenzy (remember your stories about 9/11), guess who the current CJI is?
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Dalit is a sanskrit word which means ‘Broken People’. Dalits consist of thousands of castes, clans and communities who were registered as scheduled castes and tribes. Majority of the people in these communities are poor. Since about 22% of population of India are classified as dalits this will amount to millions. There are also a minorty of upwardly mobile Dalits who are extremely rich. These minorty of dalits (even if it is 10% of the 22%) amount to millions.
So the pertinent question to ask is – Is Mr Dinakaran a dalit, in the true sense of the word?
Would a person bracked under the Dalit category still be a Dalit if he has many crores as assets (either inherited as Dinakaran claims or earned legally/illegaly). If some of these dalit activists still claim that he is then they are doing a great disservice to the real poor and oppressed people.
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175 million dalits are in India and hindu toilet papers(indian news papers) are not able to tolerate justice Dinakaran,now come to shanti bhusan ,he is very crrupt solicitor with middle man work in supreme court and high court.
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The issue in question is not if one is a Muslim, Christian, Dalit or a Hindu, let it be made clear: the corrupt and crooked have no color, caste or race. It is a complete shame and sad tragedy of Indian democracy and Justice system that this Justice (?) Dinakaran was the sole deciding authority of so many legal cases, almost all of which were decided for monetary benefits or personal favors. It speaks so much that he managed to become the chief justice of Karnataka High Court and was even proposed to join the Supreme Court of India!
Had it not been for the Forum for Judicial Accountability, this crook would have always been above the law! Think about it.
Finally, the key issue here is corruption and injustice and not Religion and Caste which appears to be the hidden, diversionary agenda of all his supporters who have gained a lot thanks to absolute power vested with the CJ!
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Correctly said, Rizwan!
Justice Thinakaran should be sent home.
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The issue of cste, corruption and influence are no doubt important. Learned Shanti Bhushan has hinted ominously to throw cold water on the authrities concerned to thwat elevation of Justice Dinakaran to the the nation’s apex Court. The two observations that merit notice are:
“Justice Dinakaran has declared that he will not accompany the ‘judges exchange’ delegation to Australia. There is a lot to doubt whethere he deserved to be a delegate over others in the first place. Someone seems to have a soft spot for him.” Shanti Bhushan
“Justice Dinakaran has declared that he will not accompany the ‘judges exchange’ delegation to Australia. There is a lot to doubt whethere he deserved to be a delegate over others in the first place. Someone seems to have a soft spot for him.” Rajeen Dhavan, SC advocate
K Veeramani’s outburst in the bakdrop of high profile bulldozers as above deserves to be taken with due seriousness it merits. All those who talk of transperency and merit are pretentious. How come caste does matter in the country of caste, which basically is religion for them? How did Shamit Mukherjee, ex-judge of Helhi High Court with reeking charges of curruption as advocates of the same high court was elevated as a judge in the first place?
We know how a Bengali crikect player of Calcutta when dropped by the BCCI from Team India, the media and high profile people mostly of the powerful Brahmincal clan in every sphere all over India went on media rampage with the sorry of discrimination? He was under media pressure was rehabilitated for some foerign tours.
Why Ashok Sen of Calcutta’s hasn’t been yet dismissed? They and many others in the same august offices are not exposed because of the inherent and built protection in the system their accident of birth enshrines. There would be many more cases in everywalk of life.
The eminent lawyers in High/Supreme Courts across the country, mostly, if not wholly, belong to families of acting/ex-judges in the same High/Supreme Courts. Itn’t it corruption? Why the holy brigade who have launched crusade against Justice Dinakaran aren’t vocal against them?
In 19th century Henry Cotton, a high rated ICS wrote in his much acclaimed Indian in Transition (1884?) that educated Indians who were as capable and meritorious as any Englishmen weilding authroity of offices were hated by them. The same alien rulers, he further noted, would show paternalistic favours towards poor, illiterate and neglected Indians as they would not throw up challenges of competition to the Englishmen. The Indian educated and political class would quote enlightened Cotton often to drive home how eligible Indians were edged out from positions of authority and privileges under foreign rule.
The same scenerio is in evidence. There wouldn’t be dearth of eminent men and women in various fields to parade their patronages and love for illiterate, emaciated and ignorant dalits. But they would immediately raise bogey of incompetence, inexperience, corruption, etc. when position of authority or privilege has to be opened to them.
Colonial mind set has changed from the British ruling class to Indian castes orientation in upper echelons. They do not speak. They wrap it under pretention. That’s the difference.
“The real agenda is to prevent a member of a backward community from entering the ‘sanctum sanctorum’, now a monopoly of the upper castes,”
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To Dr. A. K. Biswas,
How dare you bring Mr Ashok Sen’s name into this ! Mr Sen was a great leader, an honest man and perhaps the best legal mind India has ever produced. You had better be careful about making unjustified, false, defamatory remarks.
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He is no DALIT full forward ,nothing backward,Born christian no reservations.
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Whether he is Dalit or any religion or he takes shelter in it,Chief Justice Dinakaran should be removed and his property confiscated by the Government and be distributed to the poor,needy and child labourers etc
and those poor who die of starvation deaths and farmer suicides.
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