His father, Godavaris Mishra (sometimes spelt Godabarish Misra), was an Odia litterateur and congress politician who became education minister of Orissa state in 1941 while India was still under British rule.

He served for several terms as a member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Indian parliament) and also as governor of Assam and Nagaland.

Ranganath's second brother, Raghunath Misra, was a politician belonging to the Congress Party who was elected to the Orissa Legislative Assembly from the Banpur constituency.

Ranganath studied at Banpur High School and P.M. Academy and later at Ravenshaw College and Allahabad University.

At a young age, he was married to Sumitra Misra, a woman of his own community and similar background, in a match arranged by their families in the usual Indian way.

The commission submitted its report on 21 May 2007, wherein it recommended Scheduled Caste reservation for Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam.