On Thursday Ansari accepted a motion submitted by 75 non-Congress Rajya Sabha members seeking Dinakaran’s impeachment for his alleged land grabbing in Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu and other charges of judicial impropriety and misdemeanour.
The committee will have a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, a sitting high court chief justice besides an eminent jurist in it.
However, the fate of the plea remains uncertain as no MP from the ruling Congress party has signed the documents.
With Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati playing the “Dalit card,” it appears that uncertainty will prevail for a few more days.
The impeachment move against Dinakaran is the third since Independence.
Last year, on the recommendation of the CJI, the Rajya Sabha constituted a three-member panel to look into allegations of financial corruption against Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court. After finding prima facie evidence against Sen, the CJI recommended his impeachment as he declined to resign.
In 1993, the Rajya Sabha initiated impeachment proceedings against Justice V Ramaswami, a judge of the Supreme Court. A three-member committee probed the matter, and the report was submitted before a joint session of Parliament.
However, when the matter came up for voting in the Lok Sabha, the Congress abstained, leading to the failure of the impeachment motion.