Justice Dipak Misra, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court has been appointed as chief justice of India by the president. Dipak Misra will replace Justice JS Khehar, who is set to retire on 27th August. Dipak Misra will have a tenure of one year and his term will end on October 2nd next year.
Dipak Misra has been one of the most known faces in the Indian judicial ecosystem. Recently, he was in news for heading the bench which made it mandatory for the theatres to play the national anthem before the start of movies. Along with that, he has also been a part of the bench which had upheld verdict of a death sentence for convicts in Nirbhaya rape case.
Dipak Misra has been involved in a number of high profile cases. One of them included the case of Yakub Menon, the terrorist who was awarded a death sentence for his involvement in 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. Dipak Misra was part of the bench which heard his mercy plea at the midnight only to reject it after discussion. The incident had made him grow in his stature.
Career
Dipak Misra was first enrolled as an advocate in Orrisa High Court in 1977 where he served in the services tribunal. Being in Orrisa, he was appointed as the additional judge at the high court in 1966. After his transfer to Madhya Pradesh high court, Misra became a permanent Judge. He was later promoted to be the chief justice of Patna high court in 2009. In 2010, he was transferred to Delhi as chief justice of Delhi high court. He became a judge in Supreme court in 2011.
Dipak Mishra will be the third judge from Orrisa to become the chief justice of India. The earlier two judges from Orrisa who rose to become CJI are Ranganath Misra (his uncle) and GB Pattanaik.