Adopting a humanitarian approach, Delhi High Court’s new Chief Justice Dipak Misra disposed 13 cases on his first day in office Monday.
He started hearing cases at 11.15 a.m. and disposed 13 of the 36 cases listed for his court Monday.
Misra advised lawyers to refrain from taking adjournment so that the backlog of cases can be lowered.
While deciding a matter related to a suspected custodial death in Tihar Jail, he not only hiked the compensation for the victim’s kin but also pulled up jail authorities for poor management.
“His life mattered a lot to his family. Life is a glorious gift of creative intelligence,” a bench headed by the chief justice said.
Chief Justice Misra, 56, who was the chief justice of Patna High Court before his new appointment, was administered the oath of office Monday by Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna at Raj Bhavan here.
Born Oct 3, 1953, the chief justice started practice as an advocate in 1977 at the Orissa High Court. He was appointed additional judge of the high court in 1996.
In 1997, he was transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court where he became a permanent judge.
He became chief justice of the Patna High Court in 2009.
Former chief justice of Delhi High Court A.P. Shah retired Feb 13. Justice Madan B. Lokur was working as the acting chief justice since then.
