Supreme Court judge Justice AM Khanwilkar retires

Justice A M Khanwilkar, a Supreme Court judge, who was part of several landmark judgments, including the Aadhaar, entry of women to Sabarimala temple, criminal provision of adultery, and decriminalising gay sex, retired on Friday.

In the most recent case, he had upheld provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Justice Khanwilkar also presided over a bench which confirmed the clean chit to then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and 63 others in the 2002 riots.

Ending his over six-year tenure, Justice Khanwilkar, while sitting with Chief Justice N V Ramana and two other judges on the ceremonial bench, said, “As parting words I will only say thank you to all for the love and affection. Thank you so much. God bless you”.

Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh said Justice Khanwilkar is known as a “workaholic”.

“It is always difficult for us when a judge retires. He has been there as a colleague of ours. As members of this Bar, we used to share our chambers in the same corridor in the Supreme Court,” he said, adding the age of 65 years is very young for a Supreme Court judge to retire.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who is down with Covid appeared virtually. He said the Attorney General is also down with Covid-19, otherwise he would have expressed his views on Justice Khanwilkar.

“We will miss the smile on his face. Everyone will agree with me that even while dismissing a petition, he would do this with a smile on his face,” he said.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, who was appearing virtually, said “It has been an honour and pleasure of knowing Justice Khanwilkar for almost four decades as a colleague. I would say only one thing that please treat it as the beginning of a second inning and not a retirement”.

Justice Khanwilkar was elevated as a top court judge in May 2016. He was born on July 30, 1957 in Pune, and did LLB from a law college in Mumbai. He was appointed the Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh on April 4, 2013, and later the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court on November 24, 2013.