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Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, whose elevation to the Supreme Court was halted, has been asked by the apex court collegium to go on leave.
Sources said the decision was taken against Dinakaran, who has not been performing any judicial work since last December, as several representations were received that the judicial work of the high court has been hit.
Sources said the collegium has also cleared the name of the acting chief justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice Madan B Lokur, to be appointed as the chief justice of the Karnataka high court.
The collegium has also recommended the name of the senior-most judge of the Jharkhand high court, M Y Eqbal, as the new chief justice of the Madras high court. He will succeed Justice H L Gokhale, who has been recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court. Putte Gowda, president of the Karnataka high court bar association, welcomed the decision of the collegium to appoint the new chief justice.
Dinakaran, 59, has not been performing judicial functions after Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari admitted a motion in December seeking his removal on charges of corruption, land-grab and abuse of the judicial office.
Allegations listed in the impeachment motion against Justice Dinakaran included possessing wealth disproportionate to known sources of income, unlawfully securing five housing board plots in the name of his wife and two daughters, entering into benami transactions, and acquiring and possessing agricultural holdings beyond ceiling limit.
