Haven't seen a Supreme Court judge so firm, unshakeable as Arun Mishra: AG Venugopal

Attorney General K K Venugopal on Wednesday said he has not seen a Supreme Court judge so firm and unshakeable as Arun Mishra and described him as an "iron judge" who delivered many significant judgments.

Justice Mishra, sharing the ceremonial bench on his last day as an apex court judge with Chief Justice S A Bobde, bid farewell to the bar and the judges, saying he dealt cases with "conscience" and took every decision with "conviction".

Addressing the court through video conferencing, the outgoing judge urged the legal fraternity to "analyse (his) every judgment but do not give them this colour or that colour." Venugopal, speaking at the occasion, said, "It is disappointing that this farewell is done through video conferencing. We are hoping he will be in Delhi, after all, he is only 65 years of age.

"I have had a good relationship with Justice Mishra for the last 30 years. He is the iron judge of the Supreme Court. We will miss him in Supreme Court and we wish him good health." The top law officer began his address by saying that Justice Mishra deserved a physical farewell with several advocates of being physically present.

"I have not seen in the Supreme Court a judge so firm and unshakeable. I would describe him as an iron judge of the Supreme Court," he said.

He also referred to the Prashant Bhushan contempt case and said, "Personally, I would have been happy if no punishment was imposed." The judgment in the contempt case has laid down the law which will be a subject matter of debate, he said.

Justice Mishra did not speak much on the issue of Bhushan's conviction in his farewell address.

Justice Mishra became an apex court judge on July 7, 2014.