CJI Dipak Misra: A strong advocate of right to equality, dignity

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra who will demit office on Tuesday has been a strong advocate of the right to equality and dignity during his tumultuous 13month tenure at the helm of the Supreme Court which saw some of the most momentous judgements and events including the virtual revolt by four seniormost judgesDuring his eightyear stint in the top court Justice Misra penned or was part of a number of vital judgements including the recent verdicts on upholding constitutional validity of Aadhaar with some riders decriminalising gay sex and adultery allowing women of all ages to enter Sabarimala temple Ayodhya verdict the refusal to order release of five activists recently declaration of criminal antecedents of candidates to Election Commission and giving a green signal to live streaming of court proceedingsBut the most trying time for Justice Misra as the 45th CJI was the unprecedented January 12 press conference by the four seniormost judges of the apex court Justice since retired J Chelameswar Justices Ranjan Gogoi who is Misras successor M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph raised a litany of issues pertaining to the administration of the top court including the allotment of sensitive casesFacing allegations Justice Misra maintained a studied silence even as there was talk of impeachment in political circlesIn my whole career as a judge I never dissociated myself from the lady of equity the outgoing CJI said todayHistory can be sometimes kind and unkind I dont judge people by their history but by their activities perspective he assertedJustice Misra who was elevated to the apex court in October 2011 also upheld two death sentences of 1993 Mumbai blasts sole death convict Yakub Memon and the capital punishment to the convicts in the sensational December 16 2012 Nirbhaya gangrapeandmurder caseIn Memons case the bench headed by Justice Misra brought the curtains down on last ditch attempts by Memons lawyers to stop the execution which was carried out at 7 am at Nagpur Central Jail Memons lawyers had petitioned the then CJI H L Dattu after the apex court had upheld his death warrant and he constituted the same threejudge bench to hear the case during the predawn hearingObserving that the right to free speech cannot mean that a citizen can defame anybody Justice Misra along with Justice P C Pant declined to decriminalise defamation iquest an offence punishable with two years in jail apart from fineIn another landmark verdict Justice Misra said that horrendous acts of mobocracy cannot be allowed to overrun the law of the land and asked Parliament to consider enacting a new law to sternly deal with mob lynching and cow vigilantismOn the power tussle between the Delhi government and the Centre he held that Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal does not have independent decision making powers and is bound to act on the aid and advice of the Council of MinistersJustice Misra also upheld the constitutionality of criminal defamation and was also part of the Bench of seven seniormost judges which convicted then sitting Calcutta High Court judge Justice C S Karnan of contempt of court and sentenced him to six months imprisonmentThe apex court had also rejected the pleas of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and others to decriminalise the colonialera penal provisions and they will now have to face criminal defamation cases lodged against themRecently a bench headed by CJI Misra by a majority verdict rejected a plea for immediate release of the five rights activists Varavara Rao Arun Ferreira Vernon Gonsalves Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha held in connection with the KoregaonBhima violence case for alleged Naxal links saying it is not a case of arrest because of mere dissenting views or difference in political ideologyCJI Misra was also part of the bench which had in 2015 granted anticipatory bail granted to activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband in a case related to alleged misuse of funds meant for Gujarat riots victimsIn 2015 a Bench led by Justice Misra set aside the ban on dance bars under the Maharashtra Police ActA bench headed by him also ordered theatres to mandatorily play the national anthem before a movie and the audience to stand in a bid to instil committed patriotism and nationalism The direction was later made optionalIn a landmark verdict a bench headed by CJI Misra recognised living will made by terminallyill patients for passive euthanasiaMisra presided over a bench that reversed the Centres decision to impose Presidents rule in Uttarakhand after the ouster of Harish Rawat government Another bench that struck down the provision of the Cine Costume and Makeup Artists Association prohibiting women makeup artists and hairdressers from becoming its membersA bench headed by him ordered speedy trial of POCSO cases and issued a slew of directions to all high courts regarding trial in sexual assault cases involving childrenJuctice Misra was born on October 3 1953 After his enrolment as an advocate in 1977 Justice Misra practiced in constitutional civil criminal revenue service and sales tax matters in the Orissa High CourtHe was appointed as an additional judge of the Orissa High Court on January 17 1996 before his transfer to the Madhya Pradesh High Court He became a permanent judge on December 19 1997