Orissa High Court

Cuttack, Sept. 19: Orissa High Court today refused to interfere in the case of Lalit Kumar Mishra, who was reverted to district judge in the absence of an order confirming him as a permanent judge on completion of two years as an additional judge of the high court.

The court said it was for the appointing authority whether to appoint someone as permanent judge or renew his extension. “Therefore, it is not a fit case for the court to interfere,” the two-judge bench of Chief Justice V. Gopal Gowda and Justice H.S. Bhalla said.

Mishra’s assumption that he was considered by the Supreme Court collegium to be appointed as permanent judge was “contrary to the records produced by the Union government”, the bench said.

Mishra, while officiating as the Balasore district judge was appointed as additional judge of Orissa High Court for two years on January 17, 2008.

However, on non-receipt of order from the President’s office confirming him as a permanent judge, Orissa High Court appointed him on January 17, 2010, as Kalahandi district judge.

On March 9, 2010, the Orissa home department issued a notification on his compulsory retirement after he continued to remain on leave without joining on duty as Kalahandi district judge at Bhawanipatna.

Mishra had filed a petition in the high court in November 2010 seeking judicial redress against the two orders.

The high court said Mishra had “automatically ceased to be an additional judge of the high court with effect from January 17, 2010, on expiry of fixed tenure of two years” as extension of term as the additional judge for appointment of permanent judge of Orissa High Court was not conveyed.

“Therefore, full court of the high court meeting on January 16, 2010 rightly reverted the petitioner (Mishra) to his parent cadre of district judge with effect from January 17, 2010,” the high court ruled, dismissing his petition.

In his reactions to the verdict, Mishra told The Telegraph: “I will move the Supreme Court. I have faith that I will get justice.”

Earlier, Mishra had filed a petition in the Supreme Court for his reappointment and remained on leave without joining on duty. He had expressed unwillingness to join as the district judge on the ground that though the President’s office had not issued the order confirming him as permanent high court judge, the Supreme Court was yet to reject his candidature.

On May 3, 2010, the Supreme Court, however, refused to interfere with the order reverting him to the rank of district judge. “We are not inclined to interfere with the Orissa High Court order,” a division bench consisting of Justice Harjit Singh Bedi and Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan said.

The apex court pointed out that the background of the case left no room for direct interference. For judicial redress, the bench, however, had advised him to take his plea to Orissa High Court.

Mishra, as the additional judge, was embroiled in a controversy involving alleged misuse of official capacity in a selection test for subordinate judges.

An inquiry conducted by the high court had reportedly revealed that he had wrongly increased marks of two candidates. The error was detected, when the interview board insisted on seeing the answer sheets of all the six candidates called for interview.

Subsequently, the high court, in a notification, admitted the error and withdrew the notification announcing results of the test. During the inquiry Mishra had reportedly pleaded that the difference in marks might have appeared because of wrong dictation given to him, which was not cross-checked in good faith.

However, the high court, in a letter to the Chief Justice of India, had reportedly cited the findings and recommended suitable action and reconsideration of the decision to appoint him as a full-time judge.