NEW DELHI: Former Chief Justice of Odisha High Court S Muralidhar, who recently retired after a 17- year illustrious career as a judge, will practice law as a senior advocate before the Supreme Court. Despite being one of the most senior high court judges in the country and acknowledged for passing crucial judgments in several sensitive matters, he could not become a Supreme Court judge.
He demitted the office as the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court on August 7, 2023. On October 16, at a full court meeting of the Chief Justice of India and other Supreme Court judges, a decision was taken to designate Muralidhar as a senior advocate.
Justice Muralidhar had a 14-year tenure in the Delhi High Court before being transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court through a midnight order, a development that was criticized by lawyers, former judges, civil society members and the media.
This followed his controversial observations in relation to the Delhi police handling of the 2020 Delhi riots. Taking note of the serious condition of those wounded in the riots, a bench headed by Justice Muralidhar, in an emergency midnight hearing conducted on February 26, 2020, had directed the police to ensure their safe passage to GTB hospital for treatment.
Apart from being a part of the bench that first decriminalized homosexuality in the Naz Foundation case in 2009 and allowing RTI pleas on the disclosure of assets of SC judges in 2010, Justice Muralidhar also granted relief to Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima Koregaon case.