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The CJI wields enormous power in shaping the future of the judiciary. Credit:
Twitter/Reuters
On August 27, Chief Justice of India (CJI) J.S. Khehar will demit office. The
next in line is Justice Dipak Misra, but should the vacancy be filled up simply
by the rule of seniority?
The CJI is a constitutional authority and presides over the countrys judiciary,
comprising 31 Supreme Court justices, over 1000 high court judges and over
16,000 subordinate judges. The CJI dispenses justice in the highest court in
cases involving complex constitutional issues, issues affecting the rule of law,
issues having an impact on governance in the country, issues touching the
lives and liberties of 1.3 billion Indians, and dispenses justice in regular civil
and criminal appeals. As head of the Supreme Court, the CJI wields wide
powers not just in administration but also in constituting benches and
allocating matters, often politically sensitive ones.
Judges should be of stern stuff and tough fibre, unbending before power,
economic or political, and they must uphold the core principle of the rule of
law
In the Second Judges case, the Supreme Court in 1993 held:
Yet, Justice Misra has surprised many by what appears to be a serious lapse in
conduct. He had applied for and obtained a lease of two acres of agricultural
land in 1979 (while he was a lawyer) from the government of Odisha. In the
affidavit filed by him (as a condition for allotment) he said: I am Brahmin by
caste and the extent of landed property held by me including all the members
of my family is nil.
Also read: Old Land Allotment Case Casts Shadow on Justice Dipak Misras
Nomination as CJI
The lease was later cancelled by a well-considered order passed against him by
the additional district magistrate of Cuttack on February 11, 1985, in
proceedings under the Orissa Government Land Settlement Act, 1962:
This G.O specifically provides vide paragraph 4 that a landless person is one
who and his family members do not hold land more than two acres and who
have no profitable means of livelihood other than agriculture Therefore I am
satisfied that the opposite party (Justice Misra) was not a landless person and
as such he was not eligible for settlement of govt land for agricultural purpose.
On this ground alone, the lease is liable to be cancelled I am satisfied that
the lessee has obtained lease by misrepresentation and fraud.
It also appears that there were many other persons who had claimed such land
by questionable means. In a writ petition filed by Chittaranjan Mohanty in the
high court of Odisha, the court had passed an order on January 18, 2012,
directing the CBI to enquire and investigate into unauthorised
encroachment/occupation of government lands in the said area. The CBI had
registered preliminary enquiry stating:
In this case, Shri Dipak Mishra, S/o Raghunath Mishra, Vill-Tulsipur, PS-
Lalbagh, Cuttack & permanent R/o Banpur, Puri was sanctioned 2 acres of
land by the then Tahasildar Mr. J. A. Khan on 30.11.1979 at Plot No 34, Khata
No 330, Mouja- Bidhyasharpur.
The allotment order of Tahasildar was cancelled by ADM Cuttack vide Order
11.02.1985. But the record was corrected only on 06.01.12 as per the order
passed by the Tahasildar, Cuttack only after 06.01.2012.
The CBI further found that:
Also read: Seniority as the Norm to Appoint Indias Chief Justice is a Dubious
Convention
Justice Misras name has even appeared in the suicide note by former
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Kalikho Pul. Though no investigation has
taken place in that matter, the inquest report found the suicide note to be
genuine. Under Section 32 of The Evidence Act, a suicide note has evidentiary
value and must be followed up with a detailed enquiry after lodging an FIR, if
need be.
Recently, newspaper reports have also appeared about Justice Misras name
cropping up in the course of an enquiry by three judges of high courts into
allegations against two sitting judges of the Odisha high court.
Should such a person become the CJI, even if he is the senior-most judge?
Seniority is an important principle, though not the only principle for
appointing the CJI. I have always opposed the supersession of judges for
political or ideological considerations. As law minister in 1977, I had opposed
the strident demand from my party to supercede judges who had decided the
infamous habeas corpus judgement during the Emergency. In this case,
however, the issue is of unsuitability on serious ethical considerations.
The recommendation by the present CJI for Justice Misra to succeed him is
unfortunate in light of his own observations in the NJAC case. The country
will now have to look up to the president and the prime minister to perform
their duties, send back the CJIs recommendation and suggest the
appointment of the next judge in seniority.
Shanti Bhushan was Indias law minister from 1977-79 and is a senior
advocate in the Supreme Court.
File photo of CJI J.S. Khehar and his designated successor, Justice Dipak
Misra. Credit: Livelaw.in
New Delhi: Can the Modi government appoint Dipak Misra as the next chief
justice of the country without first resolving long-pending allegations that he
acquired public land intended for the landless poor by submitting a false
affidavit? This is the question being put to the prime minister and law
minister by Adish C. Aggarwala, president of the International Council of
Jurists, in the wake of Chief Justice (CJI) J.S. Khehars decision
to recommend Justice Misra as his successor. Justice Khehar retires on
August 27 and Justice Misra is the senior-most puisne judge at the Supreme
Court.
Arguing that Justice Misras appointment as the next CJI would severely
compromise the independence of the judiciary, Aggarwala wrote to
Justice Khehar on July 24 asking him to first resolve an ongoing enquiry in
which Justice Misras name had cropped up before the latter takes over the top
judicial position.
Background
The affidavit later became the basis for allotment of two acres of land to
Justice Misra.
The discrepancy between the application and the affidavit was noticed in 1985
by the additional district magistrate of Cuttack, C. Nayak, under whom the
matter rested. Nayak ordered the cancellation of the allotment, noting that
Justice Misra came from wealthy and propertied family and, therefore, was
not eligible to receive the land grant.
Despite the CBIs findings, the case, which is listed before Justice Indrajit
Mohanty, has not progressed.
Justice Mohanty is one of two Odisha high court judges against whom an in-
house enquiry is being conducted, the other being Justice Sangam Kumar
Sahoo.
The enquiry committee comprising three high court judges was set up by
former CJI Thakur after he received complaints of corruption and misconduct
against the two judges. The committee is headed by the chief justice of Punjab
and Haryana high court, S.J. Vazifdar.
In the course of the enquiry, the committee was forced to stop its
investigation after Justice Misras name emerged in the alleged land fraud
case. The allegations against the sitting judge of the SC cannot be gone into
by this committee as in-house procedure does not permit this committee to do
so. The effect thereof on whether this committee can proceed with the inquiry
against the two HC judges will be decided separately, the committee noted,
pointing out that it had no authority to probe Supreme Court judges.
Consequently, the enquiry against the two judges also stopped midway.
It was reported that during the enquiry, the complainants also presented the
allegations against Justice Misra, who is said to be close to the two judges
under investigation.
Against this backdrop, Aggarwala wrote to the CJI that the appointment of
Justice Misra should be stalled until a probe committee exonerates him of any
wrongdoing. Instead of having an enquiry committee comprising high
court judges, he demanded for the sake of judicial propriety that an in-house
committee that has the power to probe sitting judges in the Supreme Court be
constituted to look into the allegations against Justice Misra.
Aggarwala said that Justice Misra has neither challenged the CBI report nor
has he appealed against the revenue court orders that cancelled the allotment
of land to him. He added that since the land allotted to him was taken back by
the government only after he was appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court,
the collegium and the government of India may not have taken the allegations
against Justice Misra into consideration, and that it may now be proper for the
CJI to constitute an in-house enquiry committee to probe the matter further
before he takes over as the next chief justice.
Aggarwala said that since the Indian judiciary is highly respected across the
world, especially in the matters of jurisprudence found in the judgments of
Supreme Court of India and different high courts in India, it should first
make the effort to clear the air around allegations of misconduct against
Justice Misra before recommending him as the CJI.
However, the CJI appears to have ignored Aggarwalas letter which was
written on 24 July as Justice Khehar, according to reports, has already
recommended Justice Misras name to the law ministry for appointment as
the next CJI.
The chief justice of the high court Punjab and Haryana had informed Justice
Khehar about the allegations against Justice Misra on June 15, but the CJI has
not responded. Therefore, we are planning to write to the president and the
prime minister and request them to look into the letter that the CJ of Punjab
and Haryana has written. The government cant inquire into allegations
against a sitting judge of SC. This can only done by the in-house committee.
We will request the government to ask the CJI whether he had considered the
allegations and formed an in-house committee to probe the matter,
Aggarwala told The Wire.
In the meantime, the government has the power to appoint an acting chief
justice under article 126 of the constitution of India until the matter is fully
resolved, he added.
Baseless allegations
Noted lawyer and political activist Prashant Bhushan told The Wire that it
may be too late for any action now. The charge against Justice Misra is
serious. However, in view of the fact that it is quite old and now that he is due
to become the CJI very soon, it would be difficult to do anything about it, he
said.
It may be noted that a retired Odisha high court judge, B.P. Das, last year, had
alleged that his candidacy for the Punjab and Haryana chief justices position
was scuttled by Justice Misra because he had ordered a CBI probe into the
alleged land fraud case in which Justice Misra was also implicated.
Though The Wire was unable to contact Justice Misra for a response to
Aggarwalas letter and the older controversy it refers to, Justice Misras
associates had last December dismissed Dass allegations as baseless in
remarks to the Economic Times. As for the charge that a false affidavit had
been submitted by him to obtain land intended for the poor, the newspaper
quoted people close to Justice Misra as saying that the land was taken in
1979, when he was a young advocate, and he surrendered it in 1985, for which
records can be verified. These are all baseless allegations.
Justice Das disagreed, telling the Economic Times: The CBI report also said
the land record was not corrected till 2012. Technically speaking, Justice
Dipak Misra, among others, from 1979 to 2012, were in possession of this
land There were about 300 allottees. This was a case of encroachment/illegal
allotment to individuals, who misrepresented facts and claimed to be
landless.
Justice Misra is not new to controversy. His name emerged in the 60-page
suicide letter by the former chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Kalikho Pul,
earlier this year. Pul had alleged that relatives of top Supreme Court judges
had approached him with offers to swing the presidents rule case in his
favour.
Justice Misra was the senior judge on the bench that last November ruled in
favour of a petition that the national anthem be played before the screening of
all movies in cinema halls and that audience goers had to stand to attention
for it. In another controversial decision last year, a bench comprising Justice
Misra had rejected the Uttar Pradesh governments decision to provide
reservation in promotion of government employees. He also led the bench
which upheld the law of criminal defamation.
If confirmed as CJI, Justice Misras tenure will last till October 2018.
Mr.Upendra Mishra ( Justice Dipak Mishra Proxy or unrelated ? ) has threatened the petioner
Mr. Nagaraja.M.R. for petitioning against Justice Dipak Mishra through facebook posting. Mr.
Upendra Mishra indirectly referred about sending petitioner to jail. If anything untoward
jointly responsible along with perpetrators of crime and jointly liable to pay damages.
file:///C:/Users/Administrator/Downloads/High%20Court%20Of%20Judicature%20at
%20Allahabad_Lucknow%20Bench.html ,
Police verification is mandatory , before getting passport or before joining government service.
If police finds any suspicious connections , activities by the applicant and gives adverse
report the person will not get passport or will not be selected for government service. When
even for the post of peon in government positive police verification is mandatory , why NOT for
Justice Dipak Mishra.? Mishra has been indicted by Revenue Assistant commissioner , CBI,
still promotion to CJI why ? Previously too few judges indicted by IB and against the
cases involving common people. Whereas in the case of Suicide of Mr.Kalikho Pul former chief
minister of Arunachal Pradesh , his suicide note indicting Justice Khehar , Justice Dipak
Mishra , President Pranab Mukherjee , others was not considered as a dying declaration &
acted upon in right earnest by SCI , why ? Is there different set of laws for Justice Khehar ,
The public servants & the government must be role models in law abiding acts , for others to
emulate & follow. if a student makes a mistake it is excusable & can be corrected by the
teacher. if the teacher himself makes a mistake , all his students will do the same mistake. if a
thief steals , he can be caught , legally punished & reformed . if a police himself commits crime
, many thieves go scot-free under his patronage. even if a police , public servant commits a
crime , he can be legally prosecuted & justice can be sought by the aggrieved. just think , if a
judge himself that too of apex court of the land himself commits crime - violations of RTI Act ,
constitutional rights & human rights of public and obstructs the public from performing their
In most of the cases , when allegations against judges comes up proper enquiry is
against such judges are not entertained by courts , PILs are not registered & taken
as they are not judged , declared as Guilty by any court of law. All court
management.
punishment & definitely not the end of legal prosecution. If a commoner steals a
jewellery but returns the same after sometime to the owner with sorry. Is it the end ?
is there no punishment for his crime ? In the same way , what punishment for guilty
judge ?
Now, take the case of Justice Karnan, apex court took cognizance of Karnans
way of representation , his sound. Justice Karnan made certain allegations against
high court judges through proper official channel to supreme court of india . Why it
did not act till months , till date ? Why SCI did not constitute an impartial enquiry
committee to investigate ?
When a person calls you repeatedly in a normal polite tone & you do not respond.
The caller concludes the hearer is either deaf / dumb / pretending to be deaf &
dumb. In such a scenario , caller yells out at high pitch so that the hearer can hear.
Same way , when SCI failed to act on his repeated appeals , he yelled out in open ,
what is wrong with him ? Actually SCI is on the wrong side , why it did not conduct
To silence him SCI Judges , Advocate Ram Jethmalani termed Karnan as lunatic.
Are you subject experts in psychiatry ? You are not full fledged experts in your own
Day in day out , since years SCI Judges are making contempt of citizens of india by
not answering RTI questions , by not registering PILs in turn covering up crimes by
judges , officials & others. Why no punishment to SCI Judges for contempt of
citizens of india ?
There is wrong from the beginning. There are fake advocates , Judicial exam
papers are leaked , few judges selected are kith & kin of serving / influential
judges ( others not bright ? ) , some judges copy during the examination , few
favorable junior judges promoted while the talented senior judge is sidelined in
promotion. So few candidates are selected as judges in the illegal way , how can
https://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/judges-sex-crimes
http://www.scribd.com/doc/173854541/Chief-Justice-of-India-A-Criminal ,
http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/50-of-higher-judiciary-corrupt-says-ex-sc-judge-
markandey-katju/story-Hfu8Ru8o9YfoGOjloboytN.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Eight-chief-justices-were-corrupt-Ex-law-
minister/articleshow/6568723.cms
http://www.sify.com/news/in-suicide-note-arunachal-cm-kalikho-pul-alleges-graft-by-sc-judges-
congress-news-national-rcruamjjfdhhc.html ,
Calcutta HC Justice Karnan calls judiciary corrupt, brings up old allegations against
HC judges
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/calcutta-hc-justice-karnan-calls-judiciary-corrupt-
brings-up-old-allegations-against-hc-judges/story-k0WRYaBWRPYaUI6HgzPDHP.html
Traitors in Judiciary & Police
https://www.scribd.com/document/329980170/Traitors-in-Judiciary-Police ,
Crimes by Khaki
https://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/crimes-by-khaki
https://www.scribd.com/document/336585411/FIRST-Answer-Judges-Police
https://sites.google.com/site/dalitsdiary/dipak-mishra-unfit-judge ,
https://sites.google.com/site/eclarionofdalit/jail-tyrant-judges ,
https://sites.google.com/site/eclarionofdalit/ugly-face-of-judiciary ,
https://sites.google.com/site/eclarionofdalit/5-star-jails-hell ,
Yours ,
International Council of Jurists (ICJ) has sought an in-house probe against Justice
Even as Chief Justice of India (CJI) JS Khehar has recommended the name of senior-most
Supreme Court judge Justice Dipak Mishra as his successor, the International Council of Jurists
(ICJ) has sought an in-house probe against Justice Mishra for alleged irregularities.
Since the CJI has already recommended Justice Mishra's name as his successor despite the
charges against him, ICJ plans to approach the President and the Prime Minister seeking their
intervention.
Lok Sabha MP Harinder Singh Khalsa has also written a letter to the Prime Minister's Office
expressing his concern over the CJI's recommendation of Justice Misra.
"I feel very strongly about what is going on at the moment. Allegations of impropriety and the
incident with Justice CS Karnan prompted me to write to the Prime Minister," Khalsa told DNA.
In his letter, Khalsa referred to late Arunachal Chief Minister Kalikho Pul's suicide letter which
accused several judges of the higher judiciary of corruption. Khalsa wrote: "The people of this
country who certainly expect the next CJI to be not merely a Caeser's wife above suspicion but
a judicial statesman, a tall figure whose integrity and probity is beyond doubt."
As first reported by DNA, an in-house probe headed by Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief
Justice SJ Vazifdar and two other Hgh Court judges against two Orissa High Court judges was
abruptly stopped when the name of a sitting Supreme Court Justice cropped up. The committee
wrote to CJI Khehar and stated that it could not conduct any enquiry against a sitting Supreme
Court judge.
The ICJ wrote a letter to CJI Khehar on July 24 and sought an internal probe against Justice
Misra since its own enquiries had "revealed that the Supreme Court judge in question is Justice
Dipak Misra, who is the senior-most after the CJI."
"We seek your indulgence to immediately appoint an in-house committee consisting of Judges
of Supreme Court of India to look into the allegations against Mr Justice Dipak Misra, Judge,
Supreme Court of India, to ensure transparency in the functioning and independence of Indian
judiciary," the letter sent by ICJ president Adish Aggarwala reads.
The ICJ letter also refers to a September 2016 complaint filed by one Jayanta Kumar Das,
alleging that Justice Misra was involved in the illegal transfer of large tracts of government land
in Bidanasi and other areas of Cuttack when he was a lawyer. According to ICJ Aggarwala,
Justice Misra was allotted land in 1979 when he was an advocate there and there is a court
order with adverse remarks in the matter pertaining to the land.
"Your Lordship, since institutional integrity is involved in the whole episode and that the
allegations are against a sitting apex court judge, who may be considered for appointment as
next Chief Justice of India, it is incumbent on you to clear the doubts in the minds of the public
and lawyers about your successor," the letter says.
It also points out that when allegations of impropriety were made against Justice Soumitra Sen
of the Calcutta High Court, "allegations, which were much less serious than those against Mr.
Justice Dipak Mishra, the then CJI immediately constituted an in-house committee to look into
the allegations against him".
"Once the veracity of allegations against him (as an advocate) was established, the then CJI
recommended his impeachment. Unless a similar procedure of enquiry is followed in case of Mr
Justice Dipak Misra, the high name of Indian judiciary may be smirked," it says.
orissa-hc-judge-cjar-writes-house-committee-chairman/
judiciary-senior-advocate-dushyant-dave-video / ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiqRt9YsYhQ&t=825s ,
Why The kith And Kin Of Judges Being Mostly Considered For Appointments? Asks
SCBA President
http://www.livelaw.in/kith-kin-judges-mostly-considered-appointments-asks-scba-president-
judges-child-calibre-heshe-can-become-judge-cji/ ,
OPP
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