New Delhi: Justice Dipak Misra is all set to become the 45th Chief Justice of India (CJI) as the Union government approved his name for the topmost judicial post Tuesday.
Justice Misra will succeed CJI J S Khehar who is scheduled to retire August 27. Misra is likely to take oath on the same day in the presence of President Ram Nath Kovind.
With his elevation to the top judicial post, Misra will be the third Oriya judge to become the Chief Justice of India. Earlier, Justice Ranganath Mishra and Justice G B Pattanaik had held the top post at the apex court.
Enrolled as an advocate in February 1977, Misra was appointed as an additional judge of the Orissa High Court in 1996 and was transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 1997. He became a permanent Judge in December, 1997. He assumed charge of the office of Chief Justice, Patna High Court in 2009 and later became the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in 2010. He was elevated to the Supreme Court October 10, 2011. Misra is scheduled to retire October 2, 2018.
According to norms, the senior most judges of the Supreme Court and High Court are appointed as the CJI. However, questions have been raised against the appointment criteria of CJI. Notably, senior SC lawyer Shanti Bhushan has recently questioned the appointment of Misra on the basis of ‘seniority’ alone despite allegations of impropriety against the judge in some cases.
The sexagenarian judge has handled many important cases of the country including the infamous Nirbhaya case. His landmark judgment in the Own Motion vs State case, requiring Delhi Police to upload FIRs on their website within 24 hours of the registration, to enable the accused to file appropriate applications before the court was remarkable.
In a case on Reservation in promotion, Justice Misra and Justice Dalveer Bhandari upheld the Allahabad High Court judgement that reservation in promotions can be provided only if there is sufficient data and evidence to justify the need. The bench rejected the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to provide reservation in promotion on the ground that it failed to furnish sufficient valid data.
Justice Misra led the bench which rejected the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon’s appeal to stop his execution. He then received a death threat in writing, an anonymous letter which says “irrespective of the protection you may avail, we will eliminate you.”
A three-judge bench led by Justice Misra has upheld the death sentence awarded to four convicts of the Nirbhaya rape case May 5, 2017.
Post News Network
