Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Oct 4: It is gathered, that the plans of the office bearers of High Court Employees Welfare Association to initiate a signature campaign in favour of the High Court Chief Justice (CJ) P D Dinakaran, the decision to elevate whom to the apex court of the country has given rise to a controversy, failed to materialize, as several employees and a section of the office bearers objected to such a move.

The Association had decided to pass a resolution supporting the CJ. However, several employees refused to toe the Association's line. It is learnt, that the Association president had, under instructions from a senior judge in the High court, convened a meeting of the Association members on September 30. The intention of some of the office bearers of the Association was to extend a blanket support to Justice Dinakaran, hailing the CJ for his work and commitment. It had also been proposed to oppose the resolution passed by Bangalore Advocates Association a few days back, asking the CJ not to take part in the court proceedings till the allegations leveled against him are cleared.

When the Association office bearers wanted to obtain signatures of the members for the resolution supporting the CJ, a section of the employees refused to sign it and objected to the move. Some members of the Association said that the idea to get the signatures of members was dropped thereafter. The meeting therefore, failed to take a decision to either support or oppose Justice Dinakaran. Association president Srinivas said that the Association will remain neutral on this issue.

The opposition of the employees might have stemmed from the fact that Justice Dinakaran had transferred a large number of employees, many of them women, from the High court to the newly set up circuit benches in Dharwad and Gulbarga with orders to report for duty at the transferee places immediately. The employees had organized a dharna at the High Court on February 19 this year, opposing the mass transfers.