Misra sworn in as new chief justice of Delhi HC

On his first day in office, the new Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Dipak Misra hiked the compensation to be paid to a convict tortured to death inside the Tihar jail from Rs one lakh, decided by the government, to Rs three lakh.

On his first day in office, the new Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Dipak Misra hiked the compensation to be paid to a convict tortured to death inside the Tihar jail from Rs one lakh, decided by the government, to Rs three lakh.

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He asserted that even a prisoner has the right to live, “Even though he was a life convict, that does not mean that he had no dreams,” the 57-year-old Justice Misra said while sharing the bench with the second seniormost judge of the court Justice MB Lokur.

“His life mattered a lot to his family. Life is a glorious gift of creative intelligence,” the bench said. Terming the state of affairs in jail as poor, the court said: “It is the duty of the state to ensure proper maintenance of the jail and it is the government’s responsibility to take care of all prisoners.”

The court was hearing a case in which an inmate, Sunder, 34, died after he was allegedly beaten up.

Two Tihar Jail wardens were suspended and 200 additional CCTVs installed in prisons after his suspected custodial death.