Justice Dipak Misra took the oath of office as the 45th Chief Justice of India on Monday.
He has a tenure of just under 14 months, till October 2, 2018.
President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath to Justice Misra at a brief ceremony held in the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers were present, along with the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad.
The Prime Minister tweeted his best wishes to the Chief Justice of India for a fruitful tenure.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated Chief Justice Misra, a native of the State. Mr. Patnaik called it a “proud moment for Odisha.”
On his first day in office, Chief Justice Misra headed a Bench that included Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud and heard a roster of over 70 cases.
Justice Misra was elevated to the Supreme Court on October 10, 2011. He enrolled himself as an advocate on February 14, 1977 and was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Orissa High Court in 1996. After a stint in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, he became a Permanent Judge in December 1997 before assuming charge as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court in 2009. Later, he served as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.
As the Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority, Justice Misra launched a number of initiatives to turn the offices of the State Legal Services Authorities into hubs providing facilities for litigants to access court documents, find out case status and connect to their advocates online and through dedicated phone numbers.
Gave Nirbhaya verdict
In May 2017, Justice Misra authored the landmark judgment confirming the death penalty of four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case.
He also ordered patrons to stand up as a mark of respect when the National Anthem and the National Flag are featured before shows in cinema theatres.
