SC rejects plea challenging Misra’s selection as CJI

The Supreme Court has declined to entertain two petitions challenging the appointment of Justice Dipak Misra as the next Chief Justice of India to succeed the incumbent CJI, Justice J.S. Khehar.

A bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and D.Y. Chandrachud on Friday dismissed the petition filed by National Lawyers Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms, as none appeared when the case was called.

The bench in its brief order said, “We fail to understand the reason for absence after mentioning the matter in the morning for urgent listing. May be, the entire exercise was done just to gain some limelight in the media with no seriousness to press the writ petition. We are, thus, left with no alternative but to dismiss this petition for non-prosecution.”

On August 24, a bench of CJI Khehar and Justice Chandrachud had slapped a cost of `10 lakh each on two petitioners, controversial baba Swami Omji, one of the contestants in Big Boss 10, and a Delhi based engineer, for filing a frivolous PIL questioning Justice Misra’s elevation for the sake of publicity.

Both of them appeared in person and submitted that under Article 124 of the Constitution, the CJI had to be appointed by the President and nowhere did it say it should be done on the recommendation of the incumbent CJI.