SC judge refuses honorary degree

BERHAMPURr: Supreme Court judge Dipak Mishra has refused to accept an honorary Doctor in Law degree from Berhampur University.
"Justice Mishra has declined to accept the honorary degree due to some personal reason. He recently communicated this to vice chancellor Jayant Mahapatra," a university source said on Wednesday.
The varsity had proposed to give honorary degrees to 10 persons, including Mishra, on its next convocation on May 2.The recipients include leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitly, Berhampur MP Sidhant Mohapatra, Puri MP Pinaki Mishra, leading advocate Iqbal Chagla, woman activist V Mohini Giri, Planning Commission member Syed S Hammed, sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik, senior journalist Soumya Ranjan Patnaik and spiritual leader Chandrabhanu Satapathy. The university selected these persons for their contribution towards society in their respective fields. Although the Puri MP Puri and Chagla have agreed to accept the degree, they however would not be able to attend the convocation due to prior commitments, sources said.Noted cardiologists Kabi Prasad Mishra would be conferred with an honorary D.Sc at the convocation, which will be held after a gap of four years. The last and sixteenth convocation in the university was held in 2008. Planning Commission member Syed S Hammed will present the key note convocation address, sources said.
As many as 221 persons will also receive the certificates of the Ph.D, D.Sc and D.Lit at the convocation. The certificates of the undergraduate students of the year from 2008 to 2010 will be given in their respective colleges.