Former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, S. Muralidhar, has been designated as a senior advocate of the Supreme Court, following a decision made during a full court meeting of Supreme Court judges on October 16, according to court sources.
Article 220 of the Constitution governs the practice of former high court judges as lawyers.
It restricts them to practicing exclusively in the Supreme Court or in high courts where they have not previously served as judges. Justice Muralidhar retired as the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court on August 7. His judicial career also includes service as a judge in the high courts of Delhi and Punjab and Haryana.
Born on August 8, 1961, Justice Muralidhar started his legal career by enrolling as an advocate on September 12, 1984, practicing in Chennai before relocating to Delhi. His initial appointment as a judge was in the Delhi High Court in May 2006, and he was subsequently transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 6, 2020.
Controversy arose when the central government issued a late-night notification on February 26, 2020, regarding his transfer to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. This was the same day when a bench headed by him had criticized Delhi police for failing to register FIRs against three BJP leaders for their alleged hate speeches, which were believed to have incited communal strife in northeast Delhi. Justice Muralidhar clarified the controversy, stating that he had informed then Chief Justice of India S A Bobde that he had no objection to the proposed transfer. He subsequently took the oath as the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court on January 4, 2021.