Former CJI Ranganath Mishra no more

Former Supreme Court chief justice Ranganath Mishra (86) passed away at a private hospital here late on Thursday evening after prolonged illness. A former Rajya Sabha member, he was also the first chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and had occupied the important post for three years between 1993 and 1996. He also headed several other important commissions including the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, popularly known as Ranganath Mishra Commission.

He had also headed the important judicial commission which had probed into the anti-Sikh riots in New Delhi after the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

An eminent lawyer, he was the chief justice of the Orissa High Court before he joined the Supreme Court as a judge. He became Supreme Court chief justice in 1990 and retired in 1991. He is survived by his wife and two daughters-in-law.