Two Chief Justices on same Bench,HC to set new precedent

Legal experts say it is for the first time that a Chief Justice has shared the Bench with a designate Chief Justice in the Delhi High Court.

Justice Lokur has been the acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court since February following the retirement of Justice A P Shah. While Justice Lokur will shed the tag of ‘acting’ Chief Justice after Justice Misra takes over,he will still be a designate Chief Justice till a formal declaration of his appointment by the government.

Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul says as per his memory and knowledge of the history of the Delhi judiciary,this going to be “a first”. “It certainly is a great advantage for the new judge to have the senior-most judge of the High Court on the same Bench. It not only shows the confidence of the new judge in him,but will also prove valuable for gaining knowledge of the rules and procedures of the new court,backgrounds,administrative functioning and several other such significant aspects,” adds Kaul,who went back to the Bar after resigning from the post of a Delhi High Court judge last September.

Concurring with the views,Ashok Agarwal,known for his PILs for good schooling for the Capital’s poor and powerless,says: “This is surely unprecedented and I am expecting of some great legal opinions from the Bench that has the two senior-most judges of the High Court. It must also be remembered that when two judges share the Bench,they are equal in stature.”

JUSTICE MADAN B LOKUR,56,born on December 31,1953,is a graduate in History from St Stephen’s College. He obtained his law degree from the Delhi University in 1977 and enrolled the same year. He practised in the Supreme Court of India and the Delhi High Court and was subsequently registered as an Advocate-on-Record in the apex court. As he possessed vast experience in civil,criminal,constitutional,revenue and service laws,Justice Lokur became the Central government Standing Counsel from 1990 to 1996. He was designated as a Senior Advocate in February 1997 and appointed as Additional Solicitor General of India in 1998. Justice Lokur was appointed as an Additional Judge of Delhi High Court in February 1999 and a Permanent Judge that July.

JUSTICE DIPAK MISRA,56,has been transferred from the Patna High Court where he had been serving as the Chief Justice since December 2009. Born on October 3,1953,Justice Misra was enrolled as an advocate in February 1977 and practised in constitutional,civil,criminal,revenue,service and sales tax matters in the Orissa High Court and the Service Tribunal. He was appointed Additional Judge of the Orissa High Court in January 1996. Justice Misra was transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court in March 1997 and became a Permanent Judge later that year. During his stint in Madhya Pradesh High Court,he also acted as the Executive Chairman of the State Legal Services. Justice Misra takes over as the new Chief Justice on Monday.