Justice Muralidhar takes oath as Punjab and Haryana high court judge, gets warm welcome
CHANDIGARH: Justice S Muralidhar was on Friday administered the oath as judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court here by its chief justice, RS Jha, in the presence of a large gathering, comprising jurists and lawyers.
Justice Muralidhar, who was transferred here from the Delhi high court, was greeted with roses by a number of lawyers in the high court auditorium during the oath-taking ceremony.
Most roads leading to the high court complex were dotted with welcome hoardings, a rare gesture to welcome a judge, a senior advocate said. “Delhi’s loss is Punjab’s gain,” read one of the hoardings.
WILL HEAR TAXATION-RELATED APPEALS
After the chief justice, he will be the senior-most judge at the Punjab and Haryana high court.
According to the roster prepared by the high court administration, justice Muralidhar will preside over a bench dealing with taxation-related appeals, petitions filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act besides those challenging the constitutional validity of any Act.
Justice Muralidhar will also be part of the high court collegiums, comprising chief justice Jha and justice Rajiv Sharma.
He arrived in Chandigarh by train on Thursday night. In a departure from past, he was welcomed by a group of lawyers at the station.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
Delivering a farewell speech on Thursday in the Delhi high court in the presence of a large gathering of lawyers who had thronged the building, Justice Muralidhar talked of the sequence of events and communique on his transfer to the Punjab and Haryana high court.
Justice Muralidhar said: “I was informed about it (transfer) on February 17 and had no problem with it. On February 17, I had received a communication from Chief Justice of India SA Bobde about the recommendation made by the collegium for my transfer.”
Accepting the communication, the judge said, he had replied that he has no objection to go to the Punjab and Haryana high court.
The ministry of law and justice on February 26 notified the transfer of Justice Muralidhar from the Delhi high court to the Punjab and Haryana high court.
It sparked a controversy as earlier in the day, a Delhi high court bench headed by Justice Muralidhar had read the riot act to Delhi Police regarding the violence in the northeast part of the national capital and said that “another 1984-like situation cannot be allowed to happen in this city” under its watch.