Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Sept. 14: The last rites of former Chief Justice of India Ranganath Mishra were performed at Swargadwar in Puri with state honours.

Police gave gun salutes in honour of Mishra before his grandson, Ananda, lit the funeral pyre. Mishra was the first Odia to become the Chief Justice of India.

Earlier in the day, Orissa High Court officials suspended court work to pay homage to Mishra, who was chief justice from January 16, 1981 to March 15, 1983.

Before being taken to Swargadwar for cremation, Mishra’s body was taken to the court for the judges and members of the Bar Association could pay their homage.

Judges, lawyers and politicians including governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare, chief minister Naveen Patnaik and chief justice of high court V. Gopala Gowda visited Mishra’s residence at Tulsipur in Cuttack to pay homage.

A condolence meeting was also held at Raj Bhavan. Bhandare, who had a long and close association with Mishra, described him as “one of the finest legal luminaries and an able parliamentarian”.

Naveen described Mishra as “one of the leading lights in the judicial sphere” and said Odisha had lost a worthy son.

Mishra died at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar last night while undergoing treatment for age-related ailments. He was 86 and is survived by his wife Sumitra.