Landmark Judgments Of Justice Muralidhar In Delhi High Court

Justice Dr S Muralidhar received an astounding farewell from the members of the Delhi High Court Bar Association on Thursday, on the occasion of his transfer to Punjab and Haryana High Court.The ceremony witnessed an unprecedented turnout of lawyers, and Justice Muralidhar won hearts with his speech punctuated with wit, wisdom and humility.In this context, let us have a look at some major judgments in which Justice Murlaidhar was a part of during his 14 years of service in Delhi High Court.1. Decriminalization of homosexuality - Naz Foundation caseThe conversation around LGBTQ+ rights gained momentum in the Indian mainstream society following the 2009 judgment of Delhi High Court in Naz Foundation case. Here, a division bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Dr S Muralidhar struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalized homosexuality as against the 'order of nature'. The Court located the rights to dignity and privacy within the right to life and liberty guaranteed by Article 21. Though the judgment was reversed by a 2-judge bench of the Supreme Court in 2013, a 5-judge bench of the SC later struck down Section 377, endorsing the views expressed in Naz Foundation case.In his farewell speech yesterday, Justice Muralidhar spoke about this judgment as follows :"The most moving moment as a Judge was when on 2nd July 2009 Chief Justice A P Shah and I delivered our judgment in Naz Foundation. Even as we held that consensual same sex between adults in private was not a crime, the relief that swept through the courtroom amongst those waiting to hear the verdict was palpable. Many broke down right here in front of us. At that moment, we knew that something irreversible had happened".2. Fake encounters have no place in legal system governed by rule of law In February 2018, a Delhi High court bench of Justice Dr. S Muralidhar and Justice I.S. Mehta, in Jaspal Singh Gosain v. CBI, upheld the conviction of seven policemen of UP Police for killing a young man in a 'fake' encounter in 2009. The court while observing that the 'fake encounter' presented a grim scenario, said that,"This was a tragic case of the killing of a 20 year old by the Uttarakhand police in a fake encounter. A fake encounter is a form of extra judicial killing which has no place in a legal system governed by the rule of law. It is a manifestation of the impunity with which armed forces, including the police, are prone to act in utter disregard of the rule of law. It also is symbolic of the cynicism with which the police themselves view the efficacy of the criminal justice system. The police, in this perception, are not just the accusers, but the prosecutor, the judge and the executioner".3. Bhima Koregaon- Quashing the transit warrant issued against Gautam NavlakhaIn a judgment explaining the first principles of criminal procedure in relation to arrest and remand, a division bench led by Justice Muralidhar quashed the transit warrant issued by a Delhi Magistrate for the arrest of Gautam Navlakha by Maharashtra police in the sensational Bhima Koregaon case.The Court noted that neither the Magistrate took into account material available with the police to necessitate Navlakha's arrest nor was Navlakha informed about grounds of his arrest.These, the court said, were legal requirements which could not be diluted under any circumstance. "With there being several non-compliances of the mandatory requirement of Article 22(1), Article 22(2) of the Constitution and Section 167 read with Sections 57 and 41(1)(ba) of the CrPC, which are mandatory in nature, it is obvious to this Court that the order passed by the learned CMM on 28th August 2018 granting transit remand to the Petitioner is unsustainable in law. The said order is accordingly hereby set aside," the bench ordered.4. '1984 anti-Sikh riots amount to Crimes against Humanity' - Conviction of Sajjan KumarIn December 2018, a bench comprising Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice Vinod Goel set aside a lower court order that had acquitted Congress leader Sajjan Kumar of charges in a case related to killing of five persons during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.The judgment authored by Justice Muralidhar observed that the riots amounted to 'crime against humanity' as understood in international law, and called for legislative changes to deal with such acts separately."Neither, "crimes against humanity" nor "genocide‟ is part of our domestic law of crime. This loophole needs to be addressed urgently", the Court urged.There has been a familiar pattern of mass killings in Mumbai in 1993, in Gujarat in 2002, in Kandhamal, Odisha in 2008, in Muzaffarnagar in U.P. in 2013 to name a few. Common to these mass crimes were the targeting of minorities and the attacks spearheaded by the dominant political actors being facilitated by the law enforcement agencies", observed the judgment authored by Justice Muralidhar. 5. 'Targeted Killing Of Unarmed And Defenceless People By Police' : Hashimpura ...

Landmark Judgments Of Justice Muralidhar In Delhi High Court

Manu Sebastian

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