Justice Muralidhar sworn in as Punjab and Haryana HC judge

CHANDIGARH: Chief justice of Punjab and Haryana high court Justice Ravi Shanker Jha on Friday administered the oath of office to Justice S Muralidhar as the new judge of the high court.


With his appointment, the number of judges in the court has reached to 56 against the sanctioned strength of 85 judges.

On resuming charges,

justice Muralidhar

has become senior most judge after the chief justice Ravi Shanker Jha and would be part of the high court collegium.

Justice Muralidhar had pulled up the Delhi police for inaction during the riots in northeast Delhi. His name was recommended by the Supreme Collegium for transfer to Punjab and Haryana high court in the second week of this month.

The centre, however, notified his transfer on Wednesday midnight, immediately after he passed an order in relation to riots in Delhi. Earlier, the Delhi high court bar association had also hold protest against his shifting from Delhi to Chandigarh.

Swearing-in-Ceremony was organised in the High Court Auditorium.

Among those present during the oath-taking ceremony Included all judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, members and office-bearers of High Court Bar Association.

Justice Muralidhar is known for his bold judgements and he was part of the bench of Delhi high court that had originally de-criminalised section 377 of IPC. He had also convicted the senior congress leader Sajjan Kumar for his role in 1984 anti-Sikh riot case.

Justice Muralidhar began his law practice in Chennai in September 1984 and in 1987 shifted to the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court. His pro bono work included the cases for the victims of the Bhopal Gas disaster and those displaced by the dams on the Narmada.

He was appointed amicus curiae by the Supreme Court in several PIL cases and in cases involving convicts on the death row.
Muralidhar was counsel for the National Human Rights Commission and the Election Commission of India and a part-time member of the Law Commission from December 2002 till May 2006 when he was appointed a judge of the Delhi high court.