‘Judges are not gods, won’t get every judgment right’: Outgoing SC Judge Sanjay Karol in farewell speech

NEW
DELHI:
Reti i g
Sup eme
Cou t
judge
Justice
Sa jay
Ka ol
i
his
fa ewell
add ess
o
Satu day,
said
judges
“a e
ot
gods
a d
they
will
ot
get
eve y
judgme t
ight.”
He
also
u ged
othe
judges
to
look
beyo d
the
facts
of
a
case
a d
see
the
pe so
behi d
eve y
litiga t.The
Sup eme
Cou t
bid
fa ewell
to
Justice
Ka ol
o
his
last
wo ki g
day,
with
Chief
Justice
of
I dia
Su ya
Ka t
a d
se io
membe s
of
the
Ba ,
i cludi g
Solicito
Ge e al
Tusha
Mehta
a d
Sup eme
Cou t
Ba
Associatio
p eside t
P adeep
Rai
payi g
t ibute
to
the
outgoi g
judge.“We,
as
judges,
a e
ot
gods.
We
will
ot
get
eve y
judgme t
ight.
What
was
always
i
ou
ha ds
was
simple:
to
see
the
pe so ,
ot
just
the
petitio e .
A
petitio
ca
o ly
tell
you
the
facts
of
a
case,
but
it
ca ot
tell
you
what
the
pe so
has
al eady
lost
o
what
he
is
hopi g
to
seek
f om
the
cou ts.
A d
pe haps
that
is
why
I
have
always
said
that
judgi g
equi es
a
ce tai
level
of
humility,”
Justice
Ka ol
said.“The
Co stitutio
does
ot
ask
us
me ely
to
apply
the
law
co ectly.
It
asks
us
to
apply
it
justly.
That
is
pe haps
why
the
espo sibility
of
judgi g
has
always
seemed
la ge
to
me
tha
simply
decidi g
who
is
legally
co ect,”
he
added.

Justice
Ka ol,
who
was
elevated
to
the
Sup eme
Cou t
o
Feb ua y
6,
2023,
eflected
o
his
ea ly
fou -decade
jou ey
i
the
legal
p ofessio .
He
said
the
cou t oom
had
eve
bee
me ely
a
wo kplace
fo
him,
but
a
vehicle
fo
somethi g
“g eate
a d
mo e
impo ta t”
tha
himself.“I
will
ot
p ete d
that
this
jou ey
has
bee
mi e
alo e.
This
cou t oom
has
ot
left
me;
it
has
suppo ted
me,”
he
said.Ka ol
spe t
40
yea s
i
cou t ooms,
i itially
as
a
advocate
a d
late ,
fo
19
yea s,
as
a
judge.
He
said
judges
must
lea
to
liste
ot
o ly
to
a gume ts
but
also
to
the
“eloque t
sile ces”
i
cou t ooms.“I
the
sile ce
of
the
Ba ,
the e
is
a
way
of
liste i g,”
he
said,
st essi g
that
the
judicial
p ocess
was
also
about
u de sta di g
what
people
we e
seeki g
“i
the
spaces
betwee
the
wo ds”.Recalli g
his
fi st
visit
to
Cou t oom
No.
1
of
the
Sup eme
Cou t
i
1996,
Justice
Ka ol
said
the
Be ch
appea ed
to
him
to
be
almost
six
feet
above
the
g ou d.“Judgi g
f om
the e
has
taught
me
somethi g
about
this
cou t oom’s
symbolism.
F om
below,
the
height
of
the
be ch
ca
appea
to
sig ify
autho ity.
F om
the
comfo t
zo e,
it
sig ifies
somethi g
quite
diffe e t,
a d
that
is
espo sibility
with
dig ity
a d
ho esty,”
he
said.Justice
Ka ol
said
the
Sup eme
Cou t’s
t ue
sig ifica ce
lay
i
the
faith
of
o di a y
citize s
who
app oach
it
believi g
that
someo e
would
liste .“But
we
must
also
emembe
those
who
eve
each
those
doo s
because
justice
is
too
dista t,
too
expe sive,
too
i timidati g,”
he
said.Reflecti g
o
co stitutio alism
a d
justice,
Ka ol
said
co cepts
such
as
law,
due
p ocess
a d
co stitutio al
legality
could
be
u de stood
th ough
the
idea
of
“dha ma”,
which
he
desc ibed
ot
as
itual
but
as
duty.“The
duty
of
a
judge
is
to
espect
justice
a d
see
that
the
pe so
sta di g
befo e
the
cou t,
howeve
small,
howeve
w etched,
is
see
a d
hea d,”
he
said.Add essi g
the
Ba ,
he
said
the
p i ciples
of
judgi g
exte ded
beyo d
cou t ooms
a d
judicial
obes,
with
eve y
i dividual
espo sible
fo
judgi g
thei
ow
choices,
co duct
a d
use
of
powe .“The e
may
be
o
cou t ooms,
o
obes,
o
tech ical
g ou ds,
but
i
these
small
choices,
each
of
us
dispe ses
the
measu e
of
justice
that
we
take,”
he
said.“A
judge
is
a
judge
befo e
he
do s
a d
afte
he
takes
off
the
obes,”
he
added.Refe i g
to
a
poi t
made
by
CJI
Su ya
Ka t
a
day
ea lie ,
Justice
Ka ol
said
I dia
had
ot
o ly
a
livi g
Co stitutio
but
also
had
to
“live
the
Co stitutio ”.“The
g eat ess
of
ou
Co stitutio
is
tested
ot
o ly
i
g eat
cases.
It
is
tested
i
o di a y
co duct,”
he
said.
Co cludi g
his
fa ewell
add ess,
Justice
Ka ol
said
he
was
etu i g
to
“the
most
disti guished
co stitutio al
office,”
that
of
the
o di a y
citize .

Bo
o
August
23,
1961,
Ka ol
studied
i
Shimla
a d
obtai ed
his
law
deg ee
f om
Himachal
P adesh
U ive sity.
He
became
advocate
ge e al
of
Himachal
P adesh
i
1998
a d
se ved
u til
2003,
a d
was
desig ated
a
se io
advocate
i
1999.He
was
appoi ted
a
judge
of
the
Himachal
P adesh
high
cou t
i
Ma ch
2007
a d
became
chief
justice
of
the
T ipu a
high
cou t
i
Novembe
2018.
He
was
late
t a sfe ed
as
chief
justice
of
the
Pat a
high
cou t
i
Novembe
2019
befo e
bei g
elevated
to
the
Sup eme
Cou t
i
Feb ua y
2023.

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