Even a constable's whistle carries the voice of Constitution: Supreme Justice Sanjay Karol retires

Every person in the government machinery from the President of India to a class IV employee is a stakeholder in Indian democracy, Supreme Court Justice Sanjay Karol said on Friday.

Even the lathi and whistle of a constable at the intersection carries the voice of the Constitution, the judge said.

“The constable standing at the intersection, his lathi and whistle carry the voice of the Constitution,” he stated.

Justice Karol was speaking at a farewell function organised for him by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on the occasion of his retirement from the Supreme Court.

In his speech, the judge also emphasised on the important of the bar and said that while judges come and go, the bar is permanent.

On the relationship between the bar and the bench, Justice Karol said that the strength of judges comes from the Bar.

“Judges come, and judges go. Judges come, and judges go. It is the bar only who is there. The stronger the bar, the stronger the bench,” he said.

Justice Karol was born on August 23, 1961. He did his schooling from St. Edwards School, Shimla and obtained a Bachelors Hons. Degree and a degree in Law at the Himachal Pradesh University. He practiced across fora at Delhi and other High Courts. He was appointed Advocate General of Himachal Pradesh in 1998 and served in that capacity till 2003. He was appointed as a judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on March 8, 2007.

He was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court on November 14, 2018. Later, he was transferred to the Patna High Court on November 10, 2019. Justice Karol was elevated as the judge of the Supreme Court on February 6, 2023.

In his farewell address, Justice Karol also had a message for younger members of the legal profession, urging them to make use of every opportunity to appear in court and stressing that real professional training takes place inside the courtroom.

“If you want to become learned, you have to come to the courtroom. Your grooming will happen there,” he said.

He added that however much a lawyer may study constitutional provisions such as Articles 14 and 21 in college, it is through courtroom experience that one learns how to apply the law to facts and interpret it. Justice Karol also urged younger lawyers to remain courteous to both senior and junior members of the Bar.

Reflecting on his years as a judge, Justice Karol recalled some of the lessons he learnt during his tenure at the Patna High Court.

Among these, he said, was the need to remember “whether you are sitting on the chair or the chair is sitting on you” and to “listen, listen, and then do what you think is right.”

He also spoke about how his understanding of the expression “We the People” in the Preamble and the constitutional scheme evolved over the course of his career.

While Justice Karol used the occasion to reflect on the Bar, young lawyers and his understanding of constitutional values, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant focused on the manner in which those values shaped Karol’s approach as a judge.

The CJI said Justice Karol’s courtroom was never an intimidating place and was instead treated as a space for dialogue rather than confrontation.

He added that even where disagreements were sharp, Justice Karol ensured that parties left court with a sense that they had been properly heard.

CJI Kant also recalled that Justice Karol would not readily reach for the word “dismissed” and would instead say, “I have heard you, thank you.”

He further highlighted Justice Karol’s preference for mediation and settlement in family, service and commercial disputes.

CJI Kant also recalled an incident from Justice Karol’s tenure at the Himachal Pradesh High Court. He said that during a phase of drinking-water shortage in Shimla, Justice Karol took suo motu cognisance of the issue and personally visited the distribution site to ensure that influential persons were not given preferential treatment.

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