Many high-profile cases await new CJI

Ramjanmabhoomi case and MoP on judicial appointments are just two of the knotty issues “Every case has a human face,” Justice Dipak Misra once said, conveying his guiding philosophy as a judge. When Justice Dipak Misra takes office as the 45th Chief Justice of India on Monday, his 13-month tenure may see the resolution of knotty and high-magnitude issues spanning a wide spectrum, from the validity of Aadhaar to the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title disputes. With Justice Khehar’s exit, the Aadhaar Constitution Bench has lost its lead judge. It will be up to Justice Misra now to either lead the Bench or have Justice Chelameswar lead it. Article 35A row Justice Misra may soon set up a Constitution Bench to decide the special status accorded to the State of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 35A, a provision incorporated in the Constitution through a Presidential Order in 1954 and not by a constitutional amendment. Following the strong comments made in the recent privacy judgments against Section 377 of the IPC, the Supreme Court would have to soon set up a Constitution Bench of five judges to decide the validity of the section which criminalises gay sex. Justice Misra will also guide the resolution of a prolonged impasse with the government on the finalisation of the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointment of judges. The MoP draft, which was handed over to the Supreme Court Collegium in August 2016, has been in limbo. Tackling pendency After a path-breaking role as the chairperson of the National Legal Services Authority with initiatives such as Nyaya Sanyog, which marries technology with the concept of complete access to justice by litigants, including undertrial prisoners, Justice Misra, is expected to train his sights on taking radical steps to bring down the growing pendency of over 2.80000000 cases in the lower courts. The Supreme Court under Justice Misra’s predecessor Justice J.S. Khehar had taken suo motu cognisance of pendency and judicial vacancies in subordinate courts. The apex court is considering the evolution of a centralised mechanism for appointment of judicial officers in subordinate courts. Justice Misra made history when he led the three-judge Bench which heard Yakub Memon, the sole condemned man in the Bombay blasts case, who came knocking on the Supreme Court’s door for a reprieve in the early hours of the day he was hanged to death. Justice Misra is hearing a slew of important cases with far-reaching consequences, including the BCCI case for transparency in Indian cricket administration and the SEBI-Sahara spat, in which the court is playing the taskmaster to get Sahara to repay the0000000 its owes its investors. Nirbhaya judgment In May 2017, Justice Misra authored the landmark judgment confirming the death penalty of four convicts in the brutal Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case which shook the nation and spurred the genesis of a stringent anti-rape law. In a recent judgment, Justice Misra described eve-teasing as a “pernicious, horrid and disgusting” practice in India. Recently, it was Justice Misra's Bench which put its foot down to ensure that not a single NEET student in Tamil Nadu would suffer because of the State’s proposal to promulgate an ordinance to freeze the entrance exam. In 2015, a Bench led by Justice Misra set aside the ban on dance bars under the Maharashtra Police Act while observing that there are other alternatives to a ban on dance performances to ensure safety of women. Justice Misra hit the headlines when the Bench he was leading ordered that patrons should stand up in respect and “committed patriotism and nationalism” when the national anthem and national flag are featured before shows in cinemas.