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New Delhi, August 29
Justice Dipak Misra, the judge who held midnight court to decide the fate of Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon, was today sworn in as the 45th Chief Justice of India.
President Ramnath Kovind administered the oath of office to Justice Misra, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, at a brief ceremony in the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Sixty-four-year-old Justice Misra replaces Justice JS Khehar who demitted office on Sunday. His 13-month tenure will end on October 2, 2018. Many political personalities, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, congratulated him on taking over as the CJI. “I congratulate Justice Dipak Misra on taking oath as the Chief Justice of India. I wish him the very best & a fruitful tenure,” Modi tweeted.
Justice Misra takes over as the head of the judicial family at a time when a large number of vacancies exist in the 24 high courts with some working with almost half the judges they are supposed to have. For example, the Allahabad High Court has only 89 judges against sanctioned strength of 160.
He had invited criticism in November 2016 when he made it mandatory for cinema theatres to play the national anthem terming it “a symbol of constitutional patriotism” as many felt it was an act of judicial overreach. Enrolled as an advocate on 14th February, 1977, and having practised in constitutional, civil, criminal, revenue, service and sales tax matters in the Orissa High Court and the Service Tribunal, Justice Misra was appointed an Additional Judge of the Orissa High Court on 17th January, 1996.
He was transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court on 3rd March, 1997, and became a permanent judge on 19th December, 1997. Before being elevated to the top court on October 10, 2011, Justice Misra served as Chief Justice of the Patna High Court and the Delhi High Court. Known for his literary interest and use of flowery language during proceedings, Justice Misra often quotes English authors to defuse tense atmosphere created by serious arguments by lawyers.
He hit national headlines when he held court at midnight to decide the final petition of Mumbai serial blasts case convict Yakub Memon. “It will be travesty of justice if the death warrant is stayed in a case of this nature,” Justice Misra, who was heading a three-judge Bench, had said at 4.55 am after a 95-minute hearing in the wee hours on July 30, 2015. Two hours later, Memon was executed.
Besides sending Memon to the gallows, he is also known for many other important verdicts, including rejection of appeals filed by the four convicts of December 16, 2012 gangrape case against the death sentence awarded to them. “The devilish manner in which the accused played with the victim is diabolical… If ever a case called for hanging, this was it,” a Bench headed by Justice Misra had said.
While deciding petitions filed by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a Bench headed by Justice Misra had refused to de-criminalise defamation.
“Reputation” of one cannot be allowed to be crucified at the altar of the other’s right of free speech. The legislature in its wisdom has not thought it appropriate to abolish criminality of defamation in the obtaining social climate,” Justice Misra had said. During his tenure as CJI, Justice Misra is expected to decide many important cases, including the Ayodhya dispute and petitions challenging the validity of Article 35A of the Constitution that gives special rights to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. He is already seized of these two important cases. The issue of centralised system for selection of subordinate court judges, which was being dealt with by a Bench headed by his predecessor Justice Khehar, is also likely to get his attention.
But more than the judicial side, he might have a difficult task to handle on the administrative side. Justice Khehar’s failure to resolve the issue of Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of Supreme Court and High Court judges that will have to be tactfully handled to reach an amicable solution with the government, which is becoming more and more assertive with the judiciary.
