SC grants senior designation to former Chief Justice of Orissa HC Justice S Muralidhar
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has designated former Orissa High Court chief justice S Muralidhar as senior advocate of the apex court.
The decision was taken in a full court meeting of the Supreme Court judges on October 16, court sources said.
Under Article 220 of the Constitution, a former high court judge can practise as a lawyer only in the Supreme Court or high courts where they have not served as a judge.
Justice Muralidhar retired as the chief justice of the Orissa High Court on August 7. He also served as a judge of the high courts of Delhi and Punjab and Haryana.
Born on August 8, 1961, Justice Muralidhar was enrolled as an advocate on September 12, 1984, practised law in courts in Chennai, and later shifted to Delhi.
He was initially appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court in May 2006 and was later transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 6, 2020.
A controversy had erupted when the central government issued the notification for his transfer to the Punjab and Haryana High Court close to midnight on February 26, 2020, the day a bench headed by him pulled up Delhi police for failing to register FIRs against three BJP leaders for their alleged hate speeches which purportedly led to communal strife in northeast Delhi.
Justice Muralidhar, however, cleared the air over the controversy, saying he had replied to the then Chief Justice of India S A Bobde's communication about whether he was fine with the proposal. He said he told Justice Bobde he had no objection to his transfer.
Justice Muralidhar took oath as the chief justice of the Orissa High Court on January 4, 2021.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
