Supreme Court Judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul who was part of many key verdicts, including the 2017 privacy ruling, same-sex marriage case, and Article 370, retired on 25th December. 22nd December (Friday) was his last working day at the apex court. Post-retirement, in an exclusive interview with the Indian Express, Justice Kaul talked about a range of issues including politics, judiciary, oppositions, and also his post-retirement plan in Kashmir.
During the interview on 26th December, Justice Kaul stated that there were times when his personal opinions differed from the judicial ones but believed that there is a natural flow of the task that the judiciary has to perform. “I may not agree with all judgments. I was a party to the Rafale verdict and my own thinking is that we are not to sit in judgment over contracts. There are very limited parameters on which you examine these issues. My views on bail are perceived to be fairly liberal and very different from those of the government. Even on judicial appointments, I’ve held a different view. All of them will always be a little tough and that is part of the job. They don’t like anybody to interfere and the judiciary’s job is to check and balance. So it is the natural flow of the task that the judiciary has to perform,” he said.
He also commented on the government’s working system when asked whether the current government was more aggressive and whether the judiciary gave the benefit of the doubt to the government. He said that Congress when in power was socialist in character but now has become a weak opposition. He asserted that in the absence of weak opposition, the Court cannot act as an opposition.
“A weak opposition is also a problem. The absence of legislators from the opposition of the Parliament is an important factor. Maybe in public perception, it is their inability to politically handle the government. Now, the court cannot be placed to politically handle the government… The court cannot be the opposition,” Justice Kaul was quoted as saying.
“The judiciary is a check and balance but to say, look, the government is doing this wrong and now, you have to do something about it — is wrong. Sometimes we forget the past. When there is a strong executive, there will be a little pushback for the judiciary. From 1990 onwards we have had coalition governments. So the judiciary was able to advance its cause, sometimes even transgress into some areas, I feel,” he added.
The interviewer meanwhile also highlighted the allegations often leveled at the Centre regarding legislation allegedly being passed without debate in a rushed manner. Justice Kaul then opined that the judiciary’s task is different from the task of the government and that how much pre-consultation should there be is the Parliament’s task. “Now, this government has a system by which apparently – consultation takes place in a different manner… not so much in the public domain but behind closed doors,” he said.
According to Justice Kaul, before a law is brought into force, there should be a legal impact study. “We are a very divided society in some ways. That is, because, politically, either people are with the government or very anti-government. There are many things that the government does, which are good, but maybe things which we may disagree with… traversing that middle path has become more difficult,” he said.
Sharing his post-retirement plans, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul stated that he now wants to spend more time in Kashmir where he has his old property. He intends to rebuild the property and spend most of his time in the Union territory where his house was burnt down. He says that he has attained permission to rebuild the house and will soon begin the process.
He also stated that he has no plans to join politics or in the post-retirement roles offered to the judges by the government. “I have done this for almost 40 years as a lawyer and a judge. Then there is Governorship and, the way I see it, it compromises my standing. That means I did things because I wanted something from the government. By God’s grace, I’m not in need of money, so I will work only to keep my mind occupied. If there are arbitrations or opinions that come my way, I will do that at a pace that I can control but, otherwise, I want to spend time with my grandchildren,” he said.
Justice Kaul was appointed to the Delhi High Court in 2001. Before being appointed to the Supreme Court, he served as Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.
