He enrolled with the State Bar Council of Orissa in 1974. As an advocate, he practiced in the High Court of Orissa, and subordinate courts & tribunals in the state. He also appeared in several matters before the Supreme Court of India. He specializes in commercial law and constitutional law. From 1989 to 1990, he was the standing counsel for Orissa State Road Transportation Corporation and also the senior standing counsel for the Commercial Tax Department of the Government of Orissa between 1990 and 1994. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the High Court of Orissa on 13 January 1994. Subsequently, on 7 February 1994, he was transferred to the Gauhati High Court as an Additional Judge. He was made a permanent judge (puisne judge) of the Gauhati High Court in 1995. In 2002 he was transferred to the High Court of Orissa, where he subsequently became the senior-most puisne judge of Orissa’s High Court. In that capacity, he served as the Executive Chairman of the Orissa State Legal Services Authority, which provides legal aid to petitioners in the State of Orissa. He became Chief Justice of the High Court of Chhattisgarh on 14 March 2005. On 17 November 2009, he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of India which he served till his retirement on 2 June 2014.
