| Sanjay Kishan Kaul | |
| Office: | Judge of Supreme Court of India |
| Term Start: | 16 February 2017 |
| Term End: | 25 December 2023 |
| Nominator: | Jagdish Singh Khehar |
| Appointer: | Pranab Mukherjee |
| Birth Date: | 1958 12, df=yes |
| Alma Mater: | Faculty of Law, University of Delhi |
| Office1: | Chief Justice of Madras High Court |
| Termend1: | 15 February 2017 |
| Appointer2: | Pranab Mukherjee |
| Termstart1: | 26 July 2014 |
| Appointer1: | Pranab Mukherjee |
| Nominator1: | Rajendra Mal Lodha |
| Nominator2: | Altamas Kabir |
| Office2: | Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court |
| Termstart2: | 1 June 2013 |
| Termend2: | 25 July 2014 |
| Office3: | Judge of Delhi High Court |
| Termstart3: | 3 May 2001 |
| Termend3: | 31 May 2013 |
| Appointer3: | Kocheril Raman Narayanan |
| Nominator3: | Adarsh Sein Anand |
| Honorific Prefix: | Hon'ble Mr. Justice (Retd.) |
Sanjay Kishan Kaul (born 26 December 1958) is a former judge and lawyer who served as a judge of the Supreme Court of India since 2017 until upon his retirement in 2023. He has served as the first puisne judge, senior-most after the Chief Justice of India. Also, he has been the ex officio executive chairman of National Legal Services Authority.
He is a former chief justice of Madras High Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court and a former judge of Delhi High Court. He has also served as the acting chief justice of Delhi High Court.[1]
A native of Srinagar, Sanjay Kishan Kaul was born on 26 December 1958 to a Kashmiri Pandit family. His great-great-grandfather, Suraj Kishan Kaul, was the Revenue minister in the Regency council of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. His great-grandfather, Sir Daya Kishan Kaul, was a statesman and diplomat who served as the finance minister of Jammu & Kashmir state. His grandfather, Raja Upinder Kishen Kaul, had a distinguished career in public service. Kaul's brother, Neeraj Kishan Kaul, was also a judge of the Delhi High court, having been appointed in the summer of 2009.[2]
After schooling in Modern School, New Delhi, Sanjay Kishan Kaul graduated in economics (Hons.) from Delhi University, studying in St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He then took a degree in law, studying at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, taking the LLB in 1982.[3] [4]
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]
During his 19-year career, he handled mainly commercial, civil & writ matters in Delhi high court & Supreme court of India.[3]
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]
The chancellor of TNDALU is the chief justice of Madras high court. Hence he served as the chancellor of TNDALU and he has also visited the college and addressed the students.[6]
In the year 2017, on 24 August, Kaul along with eight judges ruled in favour of Privacy being a Fundamental Right, which is a watershed moment in the history of Constitutional Jurisprudence of India.
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.[8]
8.http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/Process-of-selecting-V-C-for-law-school-under-way-says-Chief-Justice/article15422011.ece