CJI B R Gavai leaves behind rich legacy of prodigious verdicts on waqf, wildlife, climate

Says leaving with contentment having done what I could do for nation

- MPOST BUREAU

NEW DELHI: Outgoing Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai stepped down on Friday after a six-month tenure that produced consequential judgments across constitutional, environmental, and administrative law.

Addressing a ceremonial bench that included Chief Justice-designate Surya Kant and Justice K Vinod Chandran, Justice Gavai said he was leaving the institution with “a full sense of satisfaction and contentment” at the close of a legal journey spanning almost 40 years. The courtroom, packed with law officers, senior advocates, and young lawyers, heard him reflect on his rise from a lawyer in Maharashtra’s Amravati district to the country’s 52nd Chief Justice.

Justice Gavai, the first Buddhist and the second Dalit after K G Balakrishnan to occupy the nation’s top judicial office, will formally demit office on November 23, a Sunday. Friday marked his last working day. He recalled that he entered the profession on March 16, 1985, joining the bar as standing counsel for several civic bodies in Nagpur and Amravati. His elevation as a judge began on November 14, 2003, when he became an additional judge of the Bombay High Court.

He was made a permanent judge on November 12, 2005, and later joined the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.

In a voice that faltered with emotion, he told the gathering, "When I leave this courtroom for the last time, I leave this court with full sense of satisfaction that I have done whatever I could have done for this country." He described his professional path as one that took him from "the school of law" to finishing as "a student of justice", noting that public office must always be viewed as an opportunity to serve society rather than as a position of authority.

Colleagues recounted his personal integrity and institutional approach. Justice Surya Kant said, "He was more than a colleague.