# Justice Sanjay Karol retires, says judges are not gods 2026-08-23T09:46:54+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Justice Sanjay Karol retired from the Supreme Court on August 22, saying in his farewell speech that judges are not gods and will not get every judgment right. He emphasised that judging requires humility and the ability to see the real person behind every litigant. "The Constitution does not ask us merely to apply the law correctly. It asks us to apply it justly," he said. Justice Karol, 62, was born in Himachal Pradesh and served as advocate general of the state before being elevated as a judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2007. He became chief justice of the Tripura High Court in 2018 and was transferred to the Patna High Court in 2019 before being elevated to the Supreme Court in February 2023. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and bar leaders paid tributes at his farewell. In his address, Justice Karol said the true significance of the Supreme Court lies in the faith of an ordinary citizen. He described the duty of a judge as respecting justice and ensuring that every person standing before the court is seen and heard, and concluded by saying he was returning to "the most distinguished constitutional office", that of the ordinary citizen. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Justice Karol's farewell speech stands out for its emphasis on judicial humility, a rare public reflection from a retiring Supreme Court judge. His reference to 'dharma' as duty, not ritual, echoes debates on constitutional morality in Indian courts. He was part of benches that heard politically sensitive cases, including the electoral bonds scheme and the Gujarat 2002 riots review petitions. His retirement leaves the Supreme Court with 33 judges against a sanctioned strength of 34. The next vacancy will be Justice Hima Kohli's retirement on September 1. ## Coverage - livemint.com Direct PTI quotes with biographical profile, no editorial slant. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Himachal Pradesh, Patna High Court, Sanjay Karol, Supreme Court, Tripura High Court Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/justice-sanjay-karol-retires-says-judges-are-not-gods/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/justice-sanjay-karol-retires-says-judges-are-not-gods/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/