Now Reading: Justice Kaul memoir reveals clash with Modi on appointments
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Justice Kaul memoir reveals clash with Modi on appointments
The Story in Brief
Retired Supreme Court judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul has disclosed that he told Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘I don’t want anything after retirement’ during a discussion on judicial appointments, according to his memoir ‘Without Fear or Favour’. Kaul recounted pressing Modi to clear pending vacancies, and being told he might not be right. The book, published Saturday, 31 October 2026, also reveals Kaul questioned former CJI Ranjan Gogoi’s acceptance of a Rajya Sabha seat and described his final two months under CJI D Y Chandrachud as ‘troublesome’.
Kaul wrote that Chandrachud was ‘too deferential to the government on appointment matters’ and that ‘the government respects judges who respect themselves’. The memoir recounts how his own Supreme Court elevation was delayed for five months because collegium members felt an injustice had been done. Kaul also reflects on his tenure as Madras High Court Chief Justice, calling it ‘the greatest challenge’ with caste considerations rife, but said he left Chennai ‘with nothing but affection’. The book calls for introspection on systemic problems including 30% high-court vacancies and a rising pendency of about 20 lakh cases a year.
Indian Opinion Analysis
New Indian Express frames Kaul’s memoir around a direct clash with PM Modi and blunt criticism of fellow judges, led by a dramatic quote about wanting nothing after retirement. Times of India uses a dialogue with a legal researcher to foreground the systemic breakdown of judicial appointments and the lack of interlocutors between government and judiciary. Both sources publish the same memoir, but New Indian Express emphasises personal friction and political tension, while Times of India foregrounds institutional deadlock and the historical spirit of cooperation exemplified by Vajpayee and Jaitley. A balanced reading sees Kaul making the same substantive points in both: that appointments are stalled by process failure, that trust between the executive and the judiciary has eroded, and that introspection is needed. The sources name Majumder’s stalled Delhi high court appointment and the 30% high-court vacancy rate as concrete systemic failures.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): newindianexpress.com (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
