Justice SK Kaul and Chief Justice Chandrachud were college batchmates. (File)
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, a senior Supreme Court judge, retired yesterday, ending his six-year-long tenure at the court. At a farewell function organised for Justice Kaul, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud quoted poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz to bid farewell to his colleague and friend for over 47 years.
"Veeran hai maqaida, khum-o-sagar udas hai. Tum gaye toh rooth gaye din bahar ke", quoting a couplet of Faiz Ahmad Faiz, the Chief Justice of India said, "I first met Justice Kaul at St Stephen's College. We were in the first batch after the Emergency and our countless conversations in the canteen and our shared love for theatre made us friends."
Remembering his college days with Justice Kaul, the Chief Justice said, "He (Justice Kaul) contested in the student's elections and we fully supported him. Since I was academically strong, I was tasked to prepare his manifesto. Those days, Sanjay used to have a red-coloured Standard car. One day, he met an accident and we thought we could get some sympathy votes but that didn't happen."
Three years later, after graduating from St Stephen's, Justice Kaul and Chief Justice Chandrachud were batchmates at the Campus Law Centre at Delhi University where they completed their degree in law.
"During LLB, Sanjay's notes were famous but he never made his notes into an exercise book because he was worried that the person might not return the notes. He would ask the person which class they bunked and would give them notes for that," the Chief Justice of India said.
"I am fortunate Justice Kaul chose law, it was not his first preference. His love for travelling wanted him to opt for the Indian Foreign Service but then Chief Justice of India BN Kirpal convinced him to go for law," he added.
During his career as a high court judge, Justice Kaul authored several notable judgments which reflected his prudence, sensitivity and steadfast loyalty to the values of the Constitution, the Chief Justice said.
"In Maqbool Fida Husain v Raj Kumar Pandey, where M F Husain's painting 'Bharat Mata' was challenged as obscene, Justice Kaul passionately defended artistic freedom," he said.
A golf, theatre and music lover, Justice Kaul was part of several landmark judgements of the Supreme Court including those that held the right to privacy a fundamental right and upheld the Centre's decision to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution that bestowed special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
"I had the privilege of being in the collegium with Justice Kaul. We shared our opinions with utmost candour and said no harsh words, though we had strong opinions we resolved the issues with high standards of cordiality. I will cherish the memories shared on and off the judge's bench," he added.
Justice Sanjay Kaul was also part of a five-judge constitution bench which refused to accord legal recognition to same-sex marriage, saying there was "no unqualified right" to marriage except for those that are recognised by law.