Today, the Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said that when tolerance is decreasing at the international level, people should be tolerant of each other's opinions.

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who headed the formal bench, recalled some of his past interactions with Justice Kaul.

Justice Chandrachud said, "Justice Kaul and I have reached our 70s. We were in college together, and I think it is a great honor for me that we are sharing this platform with each other." Be it the Puttaswamy (right to privacy) case, be it the marriage equality case, be it the recent Article 370 case."

Justice Kaul said that the Supreme Court has dispensed justice without any fear or favor, and he feels that the temple of justice should remain open. He said, "I believe the boldness of a judge is a very important factor. If we are not able to demonstrate that with the constitutional protections that we have, we cannot expect other parts of the administration to do the same."

Justice Kaul said that there is no method by which the judiciary can stand up for itself, and I think it is the duty of the bar to support and also correct the judiciary.

Justice Kaul said, "It is time that the human species learns to live with each other and with other species of this world, so that they can live in harmony with it." Also, he thanked the members of the bar who had gathered in court to bid him farewell.

During his tenure as a Supreme court judge, Justice Kaul was part of several landmark judgments, including the one by a nine-judge Constitution bench which held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right. He was part of a five-judge Constitution bench that unanimously upheld the Center's decision to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 that gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

He was also part of the five-judge Constitution bench that refused to legalize gay marriage. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice Kaul had rejected the Centre's curative petition seeking additional Rs 7,844 crore from the successor companies of Union Carbide Corporation to pay higher compensation to the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. More than 3,000 people were killed.

He was also heading a five-judge Constitution bench, which held that the apex court has the discretion to exercise the absolute power given under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown and has the right to give exemption. There is a mandatory waiting period of 6 months under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, when granting divorce by mutual consent.

Born on December 26, 1958, he obtained his LLB degree from the Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi, in 1982 and was enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi on July 15, 1982. He was designated as a senior Counsel in December 1999. Justice Kaul was elevated as Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court on May 3, 2001, and was appointed as a permanent judge on May 2, 2003.

He was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court with effect from June 1, 2013 and later, took charge as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court on July 26, 2014. Justice Kaul was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on February 17, 2017.