{"id":395068,"date":"2026-09-03T17:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T11:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=395068"},"modified":"2026-09-03T17:31:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T12:01:31","slug":"justice-sanjay-karol-farewell-address-supreme-court-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/09\/03\/justice-sanjay-karol-farewell-address-supreme-court-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Ceremonial Bench at the Supreme Court of India 22 August 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Justice Sanjay Karol’s farewell address at the Supreme Court of India reflects on his 40-year legal journey, judicial responsibility, access to justice, constitutional values, dignity, humility, and the role of lawyers in upholding the institution.<\/p>\n

The Chief Justice of India, Justice Bagchi, Justice Mohana, learned Attorney General, office-bearers of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA), the lawyers present here and joined through video conferencing and my friends.<\/p>\n

For years, counsel have concluded their submissions by saying, “I am obliged”. Today, it is my turn. I am obliged—to the Bar that educated me, to colleagues who supported me, to my friends who celebrated me, to litigants who trusted me, and to my family who stood by me.<\/p>\n

For years, people have risen when I entered a courtroom. From tomorrow, there shall be no such tradition. My family, in particular, has already indicated that we will not observe this convention at home. Perhaps this is one way to remind me that the chair was always more important than the person occupying it. What remains, therefore, is not how often people stood up when I entered, but whether, when I was in office, I stood up for what was right and treated people with dignity.<\/p>\n

Your presence has made my day. Your presence reassures me that I did my job well and to the best of my abilities. I will not pretend this is an easy morning, for I have been a part of this institution for a long time. But institutions are larger than any one of us who passes through them, and that is exactly as it should be. This courtroom does not belong to me, and it never did. I was only ever a caretaker of something older and more important than myself. We as Judges inherit this Court from those who came before us, and we hold it in trust for those who will come after us.<\/p>\n

I have sat in courtrooms for forty years — first as an advocate standing where you stand, and for the last nineteen, on this side of the Bench. And in all that time, what I have never gotten used to are the silences of this court. Not one silence — many. I have come to believe they are, each of them, a kind of prayer. There is the silence of a lawyer gathering courage before their first argument — that is a prayer for strength. There is the silence just before a judgment is pronounced, when an entire courtroom seems to stop breathing together — that is a prayer for hope. There is the silence that follows an argument of rare ingenuity, when the court pauses, struck by a thought it has not heard before — that is a prayer of admiration.<\/p>\n

A Judge’s real work, I have learned, is to hear not just the arguments — but what people are praying for in the space between their words. I will miss that more than almost anything else about this chair.<\/p>\n

When I first came to Courtroom No. 1 of the Supreme Court in 1986, I remember looking up at the Bench. It seemed almost six feet above the ground. To a young lawyer, it appeared grand, imposing and, if I am honest, completely unreachable. My journey from there has taught me something about this courtroom’s symbolism. From below, the height of the Bench can appear to signify authority. From the Bench, it signifies something quite different: responsibility!<\/p>\n

Generations of Judges have sat here. Some of the most consequential constitutional questions in the life of our Republic have been argued here. Great members of the Bar have addressed this Bench. Decisions delivered from this room have reached far beyond these walls and touched the lives of millions. But I have come to believe that these courtrooms’ true significance lies elsewhere. Its greatness lies in the fact that an ordinary citizen may come through these doors and believe that somebody will listen. But we must also remember those who never reach these doors—because justice is too distant, too expensive, too intimidating or simply too slow.<\/p>\n

I have often wondered what grand words in this profession, such as Rule of Law, due process, and constitutional morality, mean to a person who does not understand the legal jargon? I have come to think the simplest word for it is dharma. Not dharma as ritual, but dharma as duty — the duty of a Judge to dispense justice and see that the person standing before you, however small, however voiceless, is seen and heard by this institution.<\/p>\n

The Constitution<\/a> 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 right. We, as Judges, are not Gods, and we will not get every judgment right. What was always in our hands was simpler: to see the person, not just the petition. A petition can only tell you the facts of a case, but it cannot tell you what a person has already lost or what they are hoping to seek from the courts. And perhaps that is also why I have always felt that judging requires a certain humility.<\/p>\n

To my friends at the Bar, I would say this: in a very real sense, each of us is called upon to be a Judge every day — of our own choices, our own conduct and our own use of power. Every day presents us with a cause list of small choices — whether to forgive and forget, whether to pause and reason before we react, and whether to treat others with dignity. There may be no courtroom, no robes, and no judgment to pronounce, but in these small choices, each of us dispenses a measure of justice every day.<\/p>\n

Our fundamental duties remind us that constitutionalism is not something to be demanded only from the State; it is something to be practised in daily life. To respect the dignity of another person, to preserve harmony despite disagreement, to question prejudice, to protect public institutions, to strive for excellence—these are not abstract civic virtues. They are constitutional habits. The greatness of our constitution is tested not only in great cases; it is tested in ordinary conduct. I must say — today I shall return to that most distinguished constitutional office—the ordinary citizen.<\/p>\n

Whatever wisdom I have acquired on the Bench is not acquired alone. Every day, the Bar taught me something new. An argument we had not considered, a judgment we had overlooked, sometimes even a question we had framed incorrectly—the Bar has a way of reminding the Bench that learning does not end with elevation. And I must say that some of the most refreshing assistance has often come from the youngest lawyer in the courtroom, who had neither a designation nor decades of experience—only preparation and the courage to stand up.<\/p>\n

To the young lawyers — sometimes you believe that importance lies somewhere in the first important brief, the first reported judgment, or perhaps a designation. I would tell you: your importance has already begun. Every time you choose fairness over advantage, preparation over pretence, courtesy over arrogance, and principle over convenience, you strengthen the institution to which all of us belong. Always remember, resist the temptation to let your noble profession become a performance. Lawyers are not celebrities, and the robes you wear are not costumes. The moment you start playing to an audience — whether it is social media or public opinion — you have stopped serving the client and started serving ourselves.<\/p>\n

To the young members of the Bar — Do not be overawed by this Bench. Do not be frightened into silence. I have said this before, and I will say it again on my way out: those of you who stand up and argue, even nervously, even imperfectly, are doing exactly what this institution needs. Be alive in this profession. Live the Constitution<\/span><\/a> — do not just cite it.<\/p>\n

There is another Bar, in a sense, which never addresses us but without whom no court could function—the Registry, my court masters, secretarial staff, law clerks, attendants, security personnel and all those who make this institution work quietly every day. Judgments carry the names of Judges. The work that makes those judgments possible carries many more names, most of which the public will never know. I owe each of them my gratitude.<\/p>\n

Many counsels appearing before me have often heard me say,<\/p>\n

“I will hear you.”My family has suggested that retirement might be an appropriate time to begin applying that principle at home. My family has warned me that no adjournment will be granted this time! The judgments may bear my name, but the years behind them belong equally to my family. Ashu, my wife, bore the absences, the late evenings, the cancelled plans, and innumerable other sacrifices to ensure my comfort. I owe a lot to my children, who have ever challenged me and been my compass through my judgeship. I truly feel proud of how responsible they have been all these years.<\/p>\n

Today I leave the Bench! However, tomorrow the court will sit again, causes will be called, counsel will rise, and citizens will come seeking justice. That is perhaps the greatest privilege of serving in this court: not simply to decide the cases that come before us, but to play, however small the part, in carrying that constitutional promise forward.<\/p>\n

I came to this Court in 1986 as an advocate asking to be heard. I leave it today having had the extraordinary privilege of hearing others. Between those two moments lies the journey of my life.<\/p>\n

I leave the robe. I leave the chair. I leave behind whatever little contribution I could make. But I take with me something far greater—the gratitude of having served the Constitution of India<\/a> and its people.<\/p>\n

I am obliged!<\/p>\n

Jai Hind.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

*Judge, Supreme Court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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