Justice Dipak Mishra: All you need to know about the 45th Chief Justice of India

Justice Dipak Mishra was on Monday sworn in as the 45th Chief Justice of India (CJI) and will remain at the helm till October 2, 2018, a tenure of almost 14 months.

Outgoing CJI JS Khehar had recommended his name as his successor last month.

Born in a small town in Orissa, Mishra has come a long way from struggling in English language to being a top-level judge in the apex court.

Justice Mishra is a known name in the law circles, who grabbed wide media attention when he made several key verdicts while also drawing flak for a few blurred decisions.

Mishra scripted history when he led the three-judge bench to dismiss 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon’s plea seeking a stay on his execution. In May 2017, Mishra doctored the landmark judgement confirming the death penalty of four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case that send cracks in the nation.

Another noteworthy decision he made was directing all States and Union Territories to upload the FIRs on their websites within 24 hours of registration at police stations.

However, Mishra dawned criticism when he ordered mandatory for all cinema theatres to play nation anthem before the start of every movie show. He said that patrons should stand up in respect and "committed patriotism and nationalism" when National Anthem and also National Flag are featured in the halls.

Mishra played an instrumental role in upholding the constitutionality of the 150-year-old law on criminal defamation. He was part of the seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court to convict Justice CS Karnan, the then Calcutta High Court judge,  of contempt of court and sentenced him to six months' in prison.

In 2015, Mishra-led Bench set aside the ban on dance bars under the Maharashtra Police Act and said there are other ways to ban on dance performers to ensure safety of woman.

Mishra, who is National Legal Services Authority executive chairman, was the mastermind behind the idea of introducing Legal Assistance Establishments in states to streamline activities to provide free legal aid to the needy.

Born in a family of intellects, jurists and politicians from a small town in Orissa, Mishra had always shown inclination towards the law. Despite studying in an Oriya-medium school, he showed interest in English and mastered himself in English.

Justice Dipak Mishra, who enrolled as an advocate on 14th February 1977, rose up to the ranks of additional judge of the Orissa High Court in 1996 and a year was later transferred to Madhya Pradesh. He has practised in Constitutional, Civil, Criminal, Revenue, Service and Sales Tax matters in the Orissa High Court and the Service Tribunal.

In 2009, he was appointed as the chief justice of the Patna High Court and later went onto to head Delhi High Court in 2010.

His time in Delhi HC paved the way for his elevation to the Supreme Court in 2011. In 2017, he was finally recommended as the CJI by the outgoing CJI JS Khehar as his successor.