S.Muralidhar did his school and college education in Chennai. He completed B.Sc in Chemistry from the Vivekananda College, Chennai in 1981 and BL from the University of Madras in 1984, securing the first rank. He did LL.M from the Nagpur University in 1990, again securing the first rank. Justice Muralidhar was awarded a Ph. D by the University of Delhi in February 2003 for a Doctoral Programme entitled “Legal Aid and the Criminal Justice System in India”.
Muralidhar began his law practice in Chennai in September 1984. In July 1987 he shifted his practice to Delhi. He practiced in the Supreme Court of India and the Delhi High Court for nearly two decades. He was an Advocate-on-record in the Supreme Court of India. He conducted several pro bono and PIL cases. He was active as a lawyer for the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee. Apart from being the counsel for the Election Commission of India and the National Human Rights Commission, he was a part-time member of the Law Commission from December 2002 till May 2006.
Muralidhar was appointed as a Judge of High Court of Delhi on 29 May 2006. He became the Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa on 4th January 2021 and retired on 7th August 2023. As a judge he delivered judgments in every branch of law including constitutional, commercial, arbitration law, tax and criminal laws. Many of the judgments have contributed to the development of law in that field. As Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa, he spearheaded reforms on the administrative and judicial fronts both in the High Court and the district courts. The notable initiatives included the establishment of state-of-the-art centres for digitisation of records of the courts and the setting up of the Centre for Judicial Archives and the Museum of Justice in Cuttack.
On 17 October 2023 Muralidhar was designated as Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of India and has since returned to practice.
Dr. Kumud Sharma: Former Director, Vice-Chairperson and Chairperson of CWDS.
Dr. Kumud Sharma joined the Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) in 1972, a year after it was constituted in 1971. She was the Research Officer involved in the drafting of the report “Towards Equality”.
The Report was reprinted in 2012, edited and introduced by Dr. Kumud Sharma along with C.P. Sujaya. It was reprinted with the support of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.