In a dramatic arc that seems straight out of a courtroom drama on the silver screen, Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai saw both a shoe hurled in his courtroom during his tenure and a shower of flower petals at his farewell on Friday framing a tenure marked by controversy, calm, and a quietly assertive constitutional vision.
As Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai prepared to step down on November 23, his farewell speech delivered on his last working day at the Supreme Court carried the weight of history, emotion and a profound sense of duty. He called himself privileged to have been the captain of the Indian judiciary when India is celebrating 75 years of the Constitution, underlining that milestone as the lodestar of his 41-year legal journey.
VIDEO | Delhi: Speaking at his farewell function, Chief Justice of India BR Gavai says, “I practice Buddhism, but I do not have any deep knowledge of any religious studies. I am truly a secular person. I believe in all religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Islam.”
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Gavai’s remarks drew deeply from his belief that the Constitution is an evolving document, a principle he traced back to Dr B.R. Ambedkar and to his father. “Dr Ambedkar always advocated for social justice,” he said. “I have tried, wherever possible, to balance Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles.” His voice faltered with emotion, “My voice is choked, I always believed that this is not an office of power but an office of duty.”
In this same gathering, senior lawyers joined in tribute. Justice-designate Surya Kant praised Gavai’s legacy, calling his leadership clear, principled and decisive. But the ceremony also saw a touching moment of humility, when a lawyer attempted to shower the retiring Chief Justice with rose petals, Gavai gently raised his hand from the bench, “No, no, don’t throw … hand it over to someone.” The gesture encapsulated the warmth many in the bar felt for him.
Yet, Gavai’s tenure was not without turbulence. On October 6, a 71-year-old advocate tried to throw a shoe at him inside Courtroom No. 1, shouting slogans about Sanatan Dharma. Security intervened immediately, and the courtroom paused. Gavai, composed, told the court, “These things do not affect me,” before resuming business.
Despite these dramatic moments, Gavai’s judicial legacy will be defined as much by his quieter constitutional work, most notably, the five-judge Constitution Bench on the Presidential Reference under Article 143. The question before the court was – can the President or state Governors be bound by judicially imposed timelines to grant assent to bills? A prior two-judge bench had set strict deadlines, Gavai and his colleagues were tasked with clarifying whether those lines could stand.
In the opinion delivered by the bench, Gavai stressed that the reference was functional, not an appeal against the earlier ruling. He insisted the Court was simply offering its legal view not overruling because Article 143 allows only advisory opinions. The Court rejected rigid timelines. It held that Governors and the President enjoy discretionary powers under Articles 200 and 201, they are not bound by the aid and advice of ministers, nor can courts impose deemed assent.
During the farewell, Gavai spoke openly about the philosophy behind that verdict. He said the court had used a “Swadeshi interpretation”, deliberately preferring Indian precedents rather than relying on foreign judgments.
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Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, present for the ceremony, echoed the sentiment, noting that Gavai’s court had distinguished the US and British systems and affirmed “we have our own jurisprudence”.
Gavai also expressed deep satisfaction that his first major decision as CJI had been on the environment. His final months on the bench saw another landmark ruling with far-reaching ecological implications, a three-judge bench led by him passed an order in the long-running Aravalli mining case. Gavai’s bench adopted a scientific definition of the Aravalli landscape and directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change to prepare a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining through the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education. The court banned new mining leases until the plan is finalised but allowed existing operations to continue under strict environmental safeguards.
As he ended his address, the outgoing CJI returned to Ambedkar’s vision, social justice, constitutional morality, and equality. He reminded the bar that the Constitution is more than a legal document, it is a living contract between the people and their institutions. And for him, serving as Chief Justice during its 75th year was not merely professional privilege, it was a page in history. |
