Noting that judges were not gods and that they will not get every judgment right, Justice Sanjay Karol on Saturday said judging required a certain degree of humility and the ability to see the real person behind every litigant.
On his last day in office, Justice Karol was given a warm send off with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Bar leaders, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Pradeep Rai, heaping praise on him for his contribution to the judiciary.
“The Constitution does not ask us merely to apply the law correctly. It asks us to apply it justly. That is perhaps why the responsibility of judging has always seemed larger to me than simply deciding who is legally correct.
“We, as judges, are not gods. We will not get every judgment right. What was always in our hands was simple: to see the person, not just the petitioner. A petition can only tell you the facts of a case, but it cannot tell you what the person has already lost or what he is hoping to seek from the courts. And perhaps that is why I have always said that judging requires a certain level of humility,” Justice Karol said.
He said he was returning to “the most distinguished constitutional office” that of the ordinary citizen.
Born on August 23, 1961, Justice Karol completed his schooling in Shimla and obtained his law degree from Himachal Pradesh University. He was elevated to the Supreme Court on February 6, 2023. Justice Karol spent 40 years in courtrooms, initially as an advocate appearing before the Bench and, for the last 19 years, as a judge.
On his last working day, he sat in a ceremonial Bench with CJI Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana.
CJI Surya Kant described Justice Karol as a judge whose career was marked by “seriousness towards the law, sensitivity towards people and an unshakeable regard for the office he serves”.
Heading the ceremonial Bench, the CJI referred to his long professional association with the retiring judge, recalling that he had known him first as a member of the Bar, later as a fellow advocate general, then as a colleague in Himachal Pradesh and finally as a fellow judge of the Supreme Court.
“What has struck me the most this morning is not the impressive journey just recounted, but the affection with which it has been spoken of. The Bar remembers Justice Karol not simply for the judgments, but for his patience, courtesy, willingness to listen, and sense of reassurance that accompanied his courtroom presence. That, perhaps, is one of the finest tributes that can be paid to anyone who has occupied judicial office,” CJI Kant said.
Justice Karol, as the chief justice of the Tripura High Court, brought pendency down from over 60,000 cases to under 27,000 within 10 months through disciplined listing, sustained docket attention, and by taking on some of the heaviest boards himself, the CJI said.
In his farewell address, Justice Karol said the courtroom had never been merely a workplace for him, but a vehicle for something “greater and more important” than himself. “I will not pretend that this journey has been mine alone. This courtroom has not left me; it has supported me,” he said.
Recalling his first visit to courtroom No. 1 of the Supreme Court in 1996, Justice Karol said the Bench appeared to him to be almost six feet above the ground.
Justice Karol said the true significance of the Supreme Court lay in the faith of an ordinary citizen who entered its doors believing that someone would listen.
“But we must also remember those who never reach those doors because justice is too distant, too expensive, too intimidating,” he said.
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