Spotlight On Recent Appointments To The Supreme Court - Justice Manoj Misra

A general criticism of the Indian Courts has been that very little is known to the public about the judges being recommended by respective Collegium before their appointment, on merit and suitability. A designated Secretariat ideally should do the job, unfortunately we don’t have such a mechanism. Livelaw has taken an initiative to share relevant information about the appointees and we are starting with the appointments to the Apex Court. The focus is to shed light on some of their significant high court judgments.We traced the judicial career of Justice Pankaj Mithal in Part 1 and of Justice Dipankar Datta in Part II. In Part III, we offered a glimpse into the judicial philosophy of Justice Sanjay Karol. In Part IV, we offered some of the highlights of Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar’s judicial pronouncements during his tenures as a High Court Judge and as the Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court. In Part V, we surveyed some of the key judgments delivered by Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, during his career as a Judge of the Patna and Andhra Pradesh High Courts. In Part VI, we offer a peek into the judicial philosophy of Justice Manoj Misra.BackgroundJustice Manoj Misra was born on June 2, 1965. Misra, who belongs to a family of lawyers, graduated in Law from University of Allahabad in 1988 and was enrolled as an Advocate on December 12, 1988. He practised at Allahabad High Court for about 23 years in Civil,Revenue, Criminal and Constitutional matters. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011 and as a Permanent Judge on August 06, 2013. Elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on February 6, 2023, he is due to retire on June 1, 2030, after completing a tenure of more than seven years. Justice Manoj Misra’s elevation to the Supreme Court directly from the position of being a Judge of the High Court - while most others made it to the Supreme Court after a stint as the Chief Justice of a High Court - is likely to raise eyebrows. At the farewell ceremony held in Allahabad High Court, Justice Misra did share his surprise over his direct elevation, but attributed it to his childhood trait, when he was asked to write his school final examination, even while studying ninth standard. Observers, however, point out that Justice Manoj Misra’s direct elevation to the Supreme Court was under the merit as well as the regional quota, as he was not only a bright judge, but was the senior-most Judge from Uttar Pradesh. With Justice Krishna Murari, another Judge from Uttar Pradesh retiring on July 8 this year, there was a prospect of Uttar Pradesh being underrepresented in the Apex Court, with only one Judge from Uttar Pradesh, Justice Vikram Nath among the sitting Judges. The elevation of Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, Pankaj Mithal - also with Allahabad High Court as his parent High Court - along with Justice Manoj Misra is seen in that perspective.The following are some of his judgments delivered by Justice Manoj Misra during his long career as a Judge of the Allahabad High Court.Rule of LawIn In Re: Withdrawal of Criminal Cases by State Government, Justice Manoj Misra was part of the Full Bench of the Allahabad High Court - also comprising Justice V.K.Shukla and Justice Bharat Bhushan - which held that the state government is not at all free to exercise its authority under Section 321 CrPC in a whimsical or arbitrary manner or for extraneous considerations, apart from just and valid reasons, while withdrawing criminal cases. The bench held that when the Public Prosecutor/Assistant Public Prosecutor proceeds to move an application for withdrawal, he has to act objectively being an Officer of the Court and has to see and ensure that the move that is being mooted by him is in the interest of advancing cause of justice. ‘The Public Prosecutor will have to rise to the occasion and will have to act independently, courageously and not simply surrender his discretion’, the bench put it. The bench added that the authority conferred on Public Prosecutor to take independent decision is not negotiable and cannot be bartered away in favour of those who may be above him on the administrative side as the Public Prosecutor is obligated to be guided by law and spirit of CrPC only and ensure that his opinion is not used otherwise. A duty has also been fastened on Court to check the abuse or misuse by the executive of the provisions of Section 321 of the CrPC, the bench emphasised in this case. In Javed Aftab & Ors v State of UP & Ors, the bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Deepak Verma stayed an order passed by the Additional District Magistrate, Bijnor directing four accused persons to pay compensation for damaging public properties during anti-CAA protests in Lucknow on December 19, 2019. The Uttar Pradesh government had issued show cause notices under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 and under Section 7 of the Criminal Law...

Spotlight On Recent Appointments To The Supreme Court - Justice Manoj Misra

V Venkatesan

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