Justice Dipak Misra appointed as 45th Cheif Justice of India

On August 8, 2018, Union Government appointed Justice Dipak Misra as the 45th Chief Justice of India (CJI) with effect from August 28, 2017. He will be replacing incumbent Justice J S Khehar, who is set to retire on August 27, 2017.

Highlights of Justice Dipak Misra’s Career:

Born on October 3, 1953, Justice Dipak Misra is the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court after Justice Khehar.He is the nephew of Ranganath Misrawho too was CJI from Sept 1990 – November 1991.

• Justice Misra will have tenure of about 14 months till October 2, 2018.
• He enrolled as an advocate on February 14, 1977 and was appointed an Additional Judge of the Orissa High Court in 1996.
• After a stint in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, he became a Permanent Judge in December 1997 before assuming charge as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court in 2009 and, later on, served as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.
• Justice Misra was elevated to the Supreme Court on October 10, 2011.
• He is presently hearing a slew of important cases which include the BCCI case for transparency in Indian cricket administration and the SEBI-Sahara spat.
• In May 2017, Justice Misra authored the landmark judgementconfirming the death penalty of four convicts in the brutal Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case.
• He was also part of the Bench of the Supreme Court’s seven senior most judges who convicted then Calcutta High Court judge Justice C.S. Karnan, of contempt of court and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment.

It is to be noted that Justice Misra will be the third person from Odisha to be appointed the Chief Justice of India, after Justices Ranganath Misra and G B Pattanaik.