After hectic week with big judgments, it was a subdued last day in SC for CJI Dipak Misra

CJI Dipak Misra | YouTube screengrab

CJI Dipak Misra, who retires on 2 October, saw a controversial tenure with allegations of corruption and threat of impeachment motion.

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra’s last day in the Supreme Court came to an anticlimactic end Monday, when a three-member bench headed by him had a relatively light workload.

In stark contrast, the last week was a hectic one in the apex court, which saw it pronounce more than 40 judgments, 20 of which were delivered by benches presided over by Misra.

CJI Misra, who took over as the top judge on 27 August, 2017, retires Tuesday after a contentious tenure. During the year, he was hit by allegations of corruption, the threat of an impeachment motion and a press conference, which saw senior Supreme Court judges express their loss of confidence in him.

On Monday, CJI Misra adjudicated on a plea seeking directions to the Central government and the states to implement guidelines framed in the event of private or public property being destroyed in mob violence, on several transfer petitions and a matter involving compensation amounting to Rs 6.5 lakh. 

Senior lawyers missing

Several senior lawyers gave Misra’s last day in court a miss and those who had lined up for mentioning of cases left when the CJI deferred mentioning to Wednesday, when his successor Justice Ranjan Gogoi takes over.

“Please mention it the day after,” CJI Misra told the lawyers who had lined up, suggesting the new CJI would decide on all issues now.

Once official matters were disposed of, advocates Vijay Hansaria and Vikrant Yadav, the secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and others offered their gratitude and best wishes to the outgoing chief justice.

Accepting the wishes, CJI Misra responded by saying, “Presently, I am responding from the heart and in the evening (referring to his farewell), I will respond with my mind.”