‘Position of power is an opportunity to serve the nation’: CJI Gavai’s farewell message

In a farewell marked by poetry and warm tributes — including verses penned by Attorney General R Venkataramani, his wife Vijayalakshmi Venkataramani, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, and others — the outgoing Chief Justice of India, Justice B.R. Gavai, said he had always regarded every position he held not as a source of power but as a chance and opportunity to serve the nation.

At the SCBA event, a poem written by Vijayalakshmi Venkataramani for the wife of Chief Justice Gavai was also read aloud, prompting the CJI to remark that the couple (AG & his wife) were “made for each other”.

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Reflecting on the influences that shaped his understanding of justice, Chief Justice Gavai said both Dr. B R Ambedkar and his father, Ramkrishna Suryabhan Gavai, guided his constitutional outlook.

In his address, he said, as judge, his effort throughout had been to strike a balance between fundamental rights and the Directive Principles (Articles 36 to 51).

He referred to Dr. Ambedkar’s final speech to the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949, where he warned that political democracy could not survive amid deep social and economic inequalities and urged India to adopt constitutional and peaceful methods of change rather than violent revolution.

The chief justice defended his positions in key judgments, including those on so-called “bulldozer justice” and the identification of a creamy layer within Scheduled Castes for reservation benefits. Stressing the rule of law, he said that “even if a person is convicted— let alone suspected — their home cannot be demolished,” as the right to shelter under Article 21 extends to family members.

On the creamy layer issue, he explained that disparities within Scheduled Castes — such as between someone from a remote tribal area and another with access to better education — could not be ignored.

As part of the seven-judge bench, Justice Gavai had authored a separate opinion underscoring that while Scheduled Castes are not a homogeneous group, the criteria for determining the creamy layer among them must differ from standards used for OBCs. The majority judgment (6:1), delivered on August 1, 2024, upheld the permissibility of sub-classification to ensure affirmative action reaches the most deprived.

He also spoke about the significant judgment reinforcing that “bail is the rule, jail the exception”, questioning prolonged incarceration without trial. Justice Gavai headed the bench that observed: “‘Bail is the rule and jail is the exception’ is only a paraphrasing of Article 21… no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.” The judgment was authored by Justice K V Viswanathan.

Recalling his father’s advice that one should always do good where possible but never cause harm, the CJI invoked Lord Denning’s words: “Do all that you can do … as long as you can do it fairly.”

Chief Justice-designate Justice Surya Kant, speaking emotionally about his long association with Justice Gavai — both being first-generation lawyers — said, “As he leaves, we have learnt something from him, and he has learnt something from us.”

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta praised Justice Gavai for “growing as a judge while remaining the same human being”, adding that the CJI’s tenure brought a “fresh breeze of Indianness” into constitutional interpretation. He said, “You said American interpretation is different, the Crown system is different, and we have our own jurisprudence… the Constitution Bench judgment in 110 pages answering it all is a new thing. A judgment should be a judgment, not an article for a law review.”

Mehta appeared to be referring to a passage in the Court’s November 20 advisory opinion on the Presidential Reference, which reads that while our Constitutional text may have been inspired by comparative outlook, its interpretation and working, we believe, is truly swadeshi.