English हिन्दी
Connect with us

India News

Justice Dipak Misra sworn in as 45th Chief Justice of India

Published

9 years ago

on

Justice Dipak Misra sworn-in as 45th Chief Justice of India

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]New Chief Justice will have the unenviable task of presiding over politically sensitive cases like the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmbhoomi land dispute, repealing Article 35A in Kashmir, among others

Justice Dipak Misra was, on Monday, sworn in as the 45th Chief Justice of India by President Ram Nath Kovind, taking over the mantle from Justice JS Khehar, who retired on Sunday. The newly sworn-in CJI is scheduled to retire on October 2, 2018 after a tenure that will last for 13 months and six days.

Justice Misra was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on October 10, 2011 and in the past six years has delivered several crucial judgments – those that were hailed as landmark verdicts and yet others that were criticised by legal experts for bordering on judicial over-reach.

Among the most defining moments of his stint as a judge of the apex court, perhaps came on the intervening night of July 29-30, 2015 when as part of a three-judge Bench, which also included then Chief Justice of India, HL Dattu, he dismissed the mercy petition of Yakub Memon, convicted in the Bombay blasts case. For the first time in the history of independent India, the Supreme Court had held a midnight hearing, discussing the arguments made in the case for nearly 90 minutes before reading out its verdict at 3 am. Memon was hanged at 3 am on July 30, 2015, amidst criticism and applause of the Supreme Court in equal measure.

A judgment passed on November 30, 2016 by a Bench headed by Justice Misra, however triggered a debate over whether an increasingly aggressive brand of nationalist fervour was stifling civil liberties. The verdict gave sanction for playing of the national anthem in cinema halls before the screening of a film began and made it mandatory for everyone present in the audience to stand up while the anthem was being played. In the days following the verdict, while a handicapped person, who could not stand up during the playing of the national anthem in a cinema hall, was severely heckled several similar reports of people being harassed by right-wing lumpens at movie theatres across the country collectively added to the narrative that whether the Supreme Court had erred in its verdict. A few months after the verdict, the Centre had informed the apex court that handicapped people who cannot stand when the anthem is played should be exempted from doing so.

On May 3, 2016, Justice Misra upheld the constitutional validity of the legal provision related to criminal defamation. Justices Misra and PC Pant had held that the reputation of an individual was an equally important right and stood on the same pedestal as free speech. The court said it would be a stretch to say that upholding criminal defamation in modern times would amount to imposition of silence. A section of the legal fraternity and advocates of free speech had termed the verdict as being regressive.

Then, on May 5, 2017, a bench headed by Justice Misra had upheld the execution of the three convicts in the highly publicised Nirbhaya gang rape case.

Just as verdicts passed by him or a bench that he was part of faced scrutiny by legal eagles, Justice Misra’s elevation as the CJI too had become a matter of some debate over the past few weeks. In July this year, Adish C. Aggarwala, president of the International Council of Jurists, had alleged that Justice Misra’s appointment as the CJI would “severely compromise the independence of the judiciary”. Aggarwala had written to then CJI Khehar – who had named Justice Misra as his successor – asking that an ongoing enquiry into allegations that Justice Misra had misrepresented facts in attempting to get hold of public land meant to be distributed to the landless poor for agricultural purposes in Odisha must first be resolved before he takes over India’s highest judicial post.

Aggarwala had raked up allegations made by an Odisha-based activist, Jayanta Kumar Das, who had claimed that back in 1979, when Justice Misra had not joined the judiciary but was a practicing lawyer, he had applied for allotment of the land to develop a fodder farm. While in his application to the Odisha government he had declared that his family owned 10 acres of land, Das had alleged that none of the said land was actually in Justice Misra’s name and that he had allegedly concealed this information in a subsequent affidavit. The affidavit later became the basis for allotment of two acres of land to Justice Misra.

The suicide note of former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Kalikho Pul too had reportedly made some serious allegations against Justice Misra, which went uninvestigated.

However, these allegations notwithstanding, outgoing Chief Justice Khehar and the Narendra Modi government still went ahead with the appointment of Justice Misra as the CJI, sticking to the seniority rule.

On his hands, the new Chief Justice will have some critical cases to deal with. He might preside over the contentious Babri Masjid demolition case and also deal with the much popular BCCI reforms matter, as well as the Sahara SEBI case. The explosive issue of abrogation of Article 35A in Kashmir is also expected to be heard by the new Chief Justice.

Adding to the challenges he is certain to face is the seemingly perpetual problem of filling up vacancies in High Courts and the Supreme Court. High Courts in India are working with just 56% of their sanctioned strength while the shortfall in the Supreme Court will widen to 6 when Justice PC Pant retires on Tuesday, leaving only 25 judges in the apex court. The contentious MOP (Memorandum of Procedure) continues to remain an unresolved issue between the government and the SC collegiums, which has rejected the idea of including a security clearance clause that would allow the executive to veto superior court appointments in case of a negative remark against a proposed candidate.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

India News

Delhi-NCR GRAP 3 imposed as pollution worsens ahead of Diwali

GRAP Stage III has been imposed across Delhi-NCR with immediate effect as Delhi’s average AQI reached 382, putting the air quality in the “Very Poor” category ahead of Diwali.

Published

2 hours ago

on

November 6, 2026

By

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has imposed Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR with immediate effect as air quality deteriorated ahead of Diwali.

The decision was taken as a precautionary measure after Delhi’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 382 on Friday, placing the national capital in the “Very Poor” category. 

GRAP 3 comes into effect across NCR

The CAQM’s Sub-Committee on GRAP decided to invoke Stage III across the entire National Capital Region.

GRAP is an emergency response framework under which pollution-control measures become progressively stricter as air quality deteriorates. The four stages correspond to different levels of air pollution, with “Poor” covering AQI levels of 201-300, “Very Poor” 301-400, “Severe” 401-450 and “Severe Plus” above 450.

The Stage III decision comes less than two days before Diwali, when authorities are particularly concerned about a further deterioration in air quality.

Pollution levels remain a concern

Delhi’s average AQI of 382 indicates that pollution levels have remained high across the capital. The move to GRAP Stage III is intended to prevent further deterioration in air quality across Delhi-NCR.

The latest decision follows earlier pollution-control measures implemented under the revised GRAP framework as air quality worsened in the region. 

What GRAP means for Delhi-NCR

The GRAP framework provides for increasingly stringent measures as pollution levels rise. Stage III brings stricter restrictions than the earlier stages, particularly in areas linked to dust and emissions.

The latest CAQM decision applies across Delhi-NCR with immediate effect. Details of the measures to be enforced under the newly invoked Stage III should be followed through official directions issued by the authorities.

The development comes amid heightened concern over air pollution in the national capital region ahead of Diwali.

Continue Reading

India News

Why no govt official has been named in Mahadev betting app case?

Published

5 hours ago

on

November 6, 2026

By

By Neeraj Mishra

A Rs 94,000-crore betting scam took place in the country and so far the only police official taking the heat is a measly ASI. The Chhattisgarh government, the CBI and the ED would all like us to believe that a betting racket backed by hawala operators spread right up to Dubai could be run on the shoulders of an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Durg district! And all this alleged money was made within three years of operations making it the most profitable venture ever.

The fact is that big names are hiding behind the curtains pulled tight together by the investigators themselves. There is an IG rank officer, two SPs, two IAS officers and several other state police officials who have been named by sources and perfunctorily questioned with no great enthusiasm by the investigating agencies. Their political masters are protecting them both from investigations and the media.    

This Wednesday a special CBI court in Raipur granted the CBI eight-day remand of alleged kingpin Saurabh Chandrakar, who was finally extradited by Oman after months of back and forth. The CBI for some strange reason then requested the court to take Chandrakar to Delhi to which the accused’s lawyer also did not object. Since the original crime scene is in Durg and most of the possible dubious characters are in Raipur, one would assume keeping him in Chhattisgarh would have been appropriate.

But perhaps it’s a bigger ring and the CBI is also aware of the pitfalls ahead. Rs 94000 crore is a figure in the chargesheet but knowledgeable sources in the gambling racket in the state believe that  while Mahadev book was initially backed by people close to then Chief Minster Bhupesh Baghel, it was later taken over by the IPL gangs since the main source of income is the IPL season. It is estimated that more than Rs 25000 crore changed hands every season. The handlers or the Khai party easily makes almost half of it nice and clean.

Baghel’s son and some of his sidekicks have been questioned but not named in the chargesheets so far. On the day Chandrakar was being produced in Raipur court, his partner in crime Ravi Uppal was arrested in Dubai and may soon be extradited. But the way things are, no big names will come out.

It’s possible that Baghel may face the heat when the 2028 state assembly elections come around but it is also clear that the Mahadev operations have probably been taken over by some other gang backed by some powerful political bosses in India. So Chandrakar was allowed to get married in Dubai with Bollywood stars in attendance and not extradited for two years. Now that everything has been snatched from him and he is no longer an asset, he’s surrendered along with Uppal. Mahadev, believe this writer, will live on.

Continue Reading

India News

Farooq, Omar Abdullah to meet upset NC MLAs amid party discontent

Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah are set to meet National Conference MLAs who have raised concerns following the recent Cabinet expansion in Jammu and Kashmir.

Published

9 hours ago

on

November 6, 2026

By

Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah are set to meet a group of party legislators who have raised concerns following the recent expansion of the Union Territory’s Council of Ministers.

The meeting is scheduled in Srinagar on Friday as the party leadership attempts to address grievances raised by several NC MLAs. Reports indicate that the legislators had met separately ahead of their interaction with the Abdullahs to finalise the issues they wanted to raise. 

The developments come days after Omar Abdullah expanded his Cabinet, inducting four new ministers and dropping Independent MLA Satish Sharma from the Council of Ministers. The reshuffle has led to discontent among sections of the ruling National Conference, particularly among legislators who were not included in the new ministerial team. 

What the NC MLAs want

The legislators have raised concerns about the functioning of the party and government, including the need for greater authority for elected representatives, stronger party organisation at the grassroots level and better implementation of commitments made to voters.

Some members of the group have also demanded changes involving ministers and the Chief Minister’s advisor Nasir Aslam Wani. Earlier reports said the legislators had prepared a memorandum outlining their grievances and demands. 

The group has stressed that its concerns are aimed at strengthening the party rather than destabilising the government. One legislator described the focus as improving the party’s functioning at the grassroots level and ensuring that MLAs are empowered to address public grievances.

Cabinet expansion triggered tensions

The latest discontent followed Omar Abdullah’s Cabinet expansion, under which four new ministers were inducted. They include Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shamima Firdous and Altaf Ahmad Kaloo. Independent MLA Satish Sharma was dropped from the Council of Ministers. 

The Cabinet changes had already prompted concerns among some senior legislators over ministerial representation and the functioning of the party organisation. The disagreement has since developed into a broader discussion about the role and empowerment of elected representatives.

The meeting with Farooq and Omar Abdullah is therefore significant as the party leadership seeks to engage directly with the legislators and address their concerns.

Continue Reading

Trending

© Copyright 2022 APNLIVE.com