Sanjay Kishan Kaul
| Sanjay Kishan Kaul | |
|---|---|
| Chief Justice of Madras High Court | |
|
Assumed office 26 July 2014 | |
| Appointed by | Pranab Mukherjee |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 December 1958 |
Sanjay Kishan Kaul is an Indian judge. He assumed charge as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court on 26 July 2014. He was the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court before and also worked as judge at Delhi High Court.[1]
Personal life
Early life & education
A native of Srinagar, Justice Sanjay Kishan was born on 26 December 1958. Kaul hails from the Dattatreya Kauls of Srinagar. His great-great grandfather Raja Suraj Kishan Kaul was the Revenue minister in the Regency council. His great grandfather Sir Daya Kishan Kaul was a statesman & a diplomat & served as the finance minister in Jammu & Kashmir. His grandfather Raja Upinder Kishen Kaul had a career in public service & his brother Neeraj Kishan Kaul was also a Judge of Delhi High court.[2]
After schooling in Modern School, New Delhi, he graduated in Economics (Hons.) in St. Stephen's College, Delhi and law in Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi in 1982 [3][4]
Interests & associations
Justice Kaul is a member of various prestigious institutions like Indian International center, India Law Institute, India Habitat Center, Roshanara club amongst others. Theatre, music, Golf & reading, including subjects unrelated to law are amongst his other areas of interest.[3]
Career
A lawyer
During his 19-year career, he handled mainly commercial, civil & writ matters in Delhi high court & Supreme court of India.[3]
as a Judge
Justice Kaul was appointed additional judge of Delhi high court on 3 May 2001, and was made a permanent judge in 2003. He was also the acting chief justice of Delhi high court in September 2012.[3] He became Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court in June 2013.[5]
Notable judgements
- 2008 Judgement as Delhi HC Judge, where Kaul dismissed the charges levied against M F Hussain for his painting of a lady later termed as 'Bharat Mata', accusing him of obscenity. Upholding free speech and expression, Justice Kaul expressed agreement with Husain's contention that there was no deliberate intention on his part to hurt anybody's religious feeling as the figure actually represented an "anthropomorphic depiction of a nation" in the form of a distressed woman.[6] Justice Kaul in his conclusion mentions,
Pluralism is the soul of democracy. There should be freedom for the thought we hate. Freedom of speech has no meaning if there is no freedom after speech. The reality of democracy is to be measured by the extent of freedom and accommodation it extends.[7]
References
- ↑ "Sanjay Kishan Kaul sworn-in as Chief Justice of Madras HC". The Hindu. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
- ↑ "CJ has Illustrious lineage to his credit". www.indianexpress.com. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 15 Aug 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 "Justice Sanjay Kishen Kaul to be new chief Justice of Madras high court". www.samachaar.com. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- ↑ "Sanjay Kishen Kaul is Punjab & Haryana HC Chief Justice". Chandigarh: www.tribuneindia.com. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- ↑ "Hon'ble Judges". Punjab and Haryana High Court. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ↑ "M F Husain A causalty of his one painting". New Delhi: Times of India, Manoj Mitta. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- ↑ "Chaste art is not art says Judge". Rediff.com. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2014.