Lecture delivered by: Justice Dr. (retd.) S. Muralidhar Former Chief Justice of Orissa High Court Title: "Secularism and the Judiciary: An Uneasy Relationship," Second A.G. Noorani Memorial Lecture At: India Islamic Cultural Centre, Delhi Date: September 6, 2025 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym8kK9MY0-Y *Note:* This lecture is in English and the transcript is embedded in the source.
"S. Muralidhar is an Indian lawyer and former judge. He was the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court and a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and Delhi High Court. He has been designated as a Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of India and presently practicing before the Supreme Court of India. The Collegium of the Supreme Court of India headed by then Chief Justice of India S. A. Bobde in its meeting held on 12 February 2020 recommended the transfer of Justice Dr. S. Muralidhar from the High Court of Delhi to the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. The President of India accepted the recommendation of the Collegium of the Supreme Court of India and the transfer was notified on the night of 26 February 2020. The hurried 'midnight' transfer of Justice Dr. S. Muralidhar was widely panned by lawyers, former judges, civil society members and the media across the country, and was considered to be a punitive measure by the government for the hearings conducted by the Division Bench of the High Court of Delhi headed by Justice Muralidhar into the inaction of police during the 2020 Delhi riots. During the Full Court Reference given by the High Court of Delhi on 5 March 2020 Justice Muralidhar spoke on the transfer giving details of the sequence of events."
