Justice Dipak Misra to be next CJI

Justice Dipak Misra, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, was on Tuesday appointed as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI).

Justice Misra, 64, will assume office on retirement of incumbent CJI Justice J S Khehar on August 27. He will remain in office till October 2, 2018.

The law ministry issued a notification on the appointment of Justice Misra as the 45th CJI on Tuesday evening.

Justice Misra was elevated to the apex court on October 10, 2011. He has earlier acted as the Chief Justice of Delhi and Patna High Courts. 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 Court.

He 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.

Justice Misra is currently presiding over a bench hearing the Cauvery and Krishna river water disputes, BCCI reforms and Sahara case among others. He headed the bench that passed the order for mandatory singing of the national anthem in cinema halls across the country.

Justice Misra, along with Justice P C Pant, had in May, declined to de-criminalise defamation — an offence punishable with two years in jail apart from fine — saying the right to free speech cannot mean that a citizen can defame anybody.