Rtd. Justice Markandeya Katju Transfer of Justice S.Muralidhar from Delhi HC I was shocked to know of the transfer of Justice S.Muralidhar from the Delhi High Court to Punjab.

Rtd. Justice Markandeya Katju Transfer of Justice S.Muralidhar from Delhi HC
I was shocked to know of the transfer of Justice S.Muralidhar from the Delhi High Court to Punjab.

Transfer of Justice S.Muralidhar from Delhi HC
I was shocked to know of the transfer of Justice S.Muralidhar from the Delhi High Court to Punjab.
When I became CJ of Delhi HC in 2005 there were many vacancies in the HC to be filled in. I was determined to have good judges in the HC. Among the names which occurred to me was that of S. Muralidhar, who though a Tamilian, had been practicing as a lawyer in the Supreme Court and Delhi HC since many years. He had started his practice in Madras High Court, but later shifted to Delhi. He appeared before me in some cases, and I was very impressed by his deep knowledge of law and skillful way of marshaling facts. I enquired about him from several senior lawyers and judges, and they all spoke favourably about him.
I was about to recommend his name for elevation as a judge of the HC but then a senior judge of the HC vehemently opposed the idea. He said that //Muralidhar was a Tamilian// so why should he be made a judge of Delhi HC, when we have many good lawyers in Delhi.
I replied that India is one nation, so we should not be parochial and narrow minded. I then went to Justice Sabharwal, the then CJI, and discussed the matter with him. Apart from being the CJI, Justice Sabharwal had himself been a lawyer and Judge in Delhi HC. I told him about my opinion, as well as the objection of that senior Judge of Delhi HC. Justice Sabharwal agreed with me, and said that Muralidhar had often appeared before him, and was a very good lawyer with a very good reputation.
I told this to my two seniormost colleagues, who agreed with me, and then I recommended his name. That is how Muralidhar became a judge of Delhi HC, and he has performed excellently ever since.
I do not know the reason for his transfer from Delhi HC, as I am presently in California, and could not talk about it with some SC judges whom I know. But if it is because he gave some judgments which the government did not like, I can only call it unfortunate
[2/20, 06:42] Sekarreporter: 👍