CJI Gavai begins with a bang

May 14 of 2025 will go down in the annals of Indian judicial history as a red-letter day for various historic reasons. No sooner was he administered the oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday and he became the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai entered the record books as only the second Dalit CJI after Justice K G Balakrishnan, and the first Buddhist to occupy the exalted position. However, these statistics apart, Justice Gavai comes with an envious track-record that has earned him the reputation of being a ‘fiercely independent’ judge for the upright manner with which he handles cases. As the CJI and head of the Supreme Court collegium, he has to reckon with several key issues at a particularly critical time for the judiciary, whose dispute with the executive is mounting by the day and the public’s trust in the judicial system is eroding. Meanwhile, for one, who plays by the rule book and is known as a hands-on judge, Justice Gavai commenced his innings as the CJI with a bang.

In a demonstration that is indicative of what is to come in the next six months (CJI Gavai is due to retire on November 23), he delivered a ruling, his first judgement as the CJI, which has been the hallmark of his entire career as a judge that took off in 2005 when became a permanent judge and served it with aplomb before being elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019. He not only declared the Maharashtra government’s 1998 decision to transfer forest land to private entities for non-forest use as illegal but also slammed what he termed as “a classic example of the nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and builders.” In fact, he saw the involvement of the then Revenue minister. This no-holds-barred ‘nexus’ contention is not surprising as the legal fraternity is aware of his penchant to give a patient hearing to arguments before rendering an authoritative justice as per law. This was evidenced by the deft handling of the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi or while ordering the release of Prabir Purkhayastha, the political activist and founder of NewsClick, who spent 225 days in jail after his arrest by the Delhi Police under UAPA.

Justice Gavai has many high-profile cases like the Maharashtra forest land transfer case up ahead. A chilling fact is that there were 82,445 pending cases in the apex court as of January. In the intervening four months, this figure must have increased. One will keenly watch how he handles the more critical and sensitive cases that need to be prioritised like the Places of Worship Act, criminalisation of marital rape and the Waqf Act, among several others, whose outcomes can redefine policy-making exercises. His “SC can’t be aloof when the country is in danger” take, while organising a two-minute silence to express solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam massacre, or while granting bail on the grounds that a long period of imprisonment without trial exemplifies his humane side. The CJI criticised the Supreme Court Bar Association for not organising a farewell get-together for Justice Bela M Trivedi, after she opted for an early retirement. By maintaining that “the Association ought not to have taken such a stand,” he showed that it was morally binding to honour traditions per se. GJI Gavai commands respect because he symbolises integrity and fairness in their noblest forms.