Spotlight On Recent Appointments To Supreme Court - Justice Sanjay Karol

A general criticism of the Indian Courts has been that very little is known to the public about the judges being recommended by respective Collegium before their appointment, on merit and suitability. A designated Secretariat ideally should do the job, unfortunately we don’t have such a mechanism. Livelaw has taken an initiative to share relevant information about the appointees and we are starting with the appointments to the Apex Court. The focus is to shed light on some of their significant high court judgments. We traced the judicial career of Justice Pankaj Mithal in Part 1 and of Justice Dipankar Datta in Part II. In this third part, we offer a glimpse into the judicial philosophy of Justice Sanjay Karol.Justice Sanjay Karol was born on August 23, 1961. He was appointed as Supreme court judge on February 6 and will retire on August 22, 2026. He will have a tenure of just over three years. Justice Karol is former chief justice of Patna and Tripura High Courts. He also served as judge and Acting CJ of Himachal Pradesh High Court. Karol was born in Shimla. He passed from St. Edwards School, Shimla and graduated with History Honours from Government College, Sanjauli. Karol obtained a law degree from Faculty of Law, Himachal Pradesh University and in 1983 he was enrolled as an advocate. He practised in various courts, including the Supreme Court in constitutional, taxation, corporate, criminal and civil matters. He appeared as counsel in the Inter-State Water dispute (BBMP Project) in the Supreme Court. He served as the Advocate General of Himachal Pradesh from 1998 to 2003. Designated as Senior Advocate in 1999, he remained on the senior panel for central government in the Supreme Court. He was elevated as a Judge of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, on March 8, 2007. He assumed charge of the office of the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh from April 25, 2017 and remained on the post till October 5, 2018. He took oath as the Chief Justice of Tripura High Court on November 14, 2018. He served as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court from November 11, 2019 to February 6, 2023. Livelaw offers a glimpse of the judicial philosophy of Justice Sanjay Karol under the following selective subjects. Environment Law In Court on its own motion vs State of H.P. and others (August 7, 2018), Justice Sanjay Karol, sitting with Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, intervened to restore the age-old water body falling within the municipal limits of Shimla town, popularly known as Chadwick Fall. The Department of Tourism has earmarked Chadwick Fall to be a place of heritage and a centre of attraction for tourists. Finding the condition of the water body as pathetic and worse than a drain, the bench headed by him held that right to life, as contemplated under Article 21, includes having a hygienic environment as an integral facet of healthy life. Right to life with human dignity, in the absence of a humane and healthy environment, would only become illusionary, he held. The State as a trustee is under a legal duty to protect the natural resources, he observed. The Chadwick Falls has got its natural beauty, which needs to be protected and preserved for posterity, he held. He directed the authorities to clean up, maintain and develop the water body so as to restore its pristine glory. As Chief Justice of Patna High Court, he showed similar concern when a bench comprising him and Justice Partha Sarthy directed the circle officers of Patna, Magadh, and Saran divisions (having control of over 14 districts) to remove encroachments on water bodies within four weeks. Scheduled Tribe status In Vijaylakshmi vs State of H.P. and Others, Acting CJ Sanjay Karol, held on November 13, 2017, that a person who does not belong to a Scheduled Tribe or a Scheduled Caste category by birth, simply by virtue of marrying a person belonging thereto cannot gain the status of that particular caste or tribe. Justice Karol did not find any illegality with the action of the authorities whereby ST certificate issued in her favour was cancelled and employment obtained by her on the strength of said certificate was terminated. The appeal against this order is currently pending before the Supreme Court. Clarity On Freebies In Kuldeep and Others vs State of Himachal Pradesh and Others, the petitioner had challenged the action of state government in amending the rules to empower the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation and Employment and Conditions of Service) Board to make assistance in shape of goods, such as bicycle, induction heater/solar cooker with utensils, solar lamp, or washing machine, in place of cash to female building workers. The petitioner argued that Clause (h) of sub-section (1) of Section 22 and Section 62 of the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and...

Spotlight On Recent Appointments To Supreme Court - Justice Sanjay Karol

V Venkatesan

Tags