SC Dismisses Plea Against Justice Misra For Non-Prosecution [Read Order]

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition mentioned before it for urgent hearing seeking a declaration that Justice Dipak Misra be disqualified from being appointed as the next Chief Justice of India.

A bench of Justice A K Sikri and Justice DY Chandrachud dismissed the petition filed by the National Lawyers' Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms, as no one from the petitioner's side appeared despite the bench waiting and message being flashed on the digital display board and the apex court website.

The matter was mentioned before Chief Justice JS Khehar in the morning with a request for urgent hearing.

The bench noted that the request of the mentioning counsel was acceded to and the matter was to be taken up after the regular matters before it. The message was flashed on the display board too.

"It is 2 pm.  None has appeared. We fail to understand the reason for absence after mentioning the matter in the morning for urgent listing," the bench said.

"Maybe 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," the bench ordered.

NLC's Mathews Nedumpara said the team was busy in Delhi High Court and the clerk was specifically informed to keep a tab on the time when the petition before the apex court will be taken up. He informed them but a bit too late. By then, the petition had been dismissed.