CJI Gavai: Progress in gender equality is not due to judiciary alone

Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai said India’s progress towards gender equality has never been achieved by the judiciary alone but by a collective voice of citizens that questioned the regressive precedents and corrected them through “reform, reinterpretation and legislative intervention”.

Delivering the 30th Justice Sunanda Bhandare Memorial Lecture, 2025 on the subject “Justice for All: Building a Gender Equal and Inclusive India”, CJI Gavai stressed that dialogue between courts and people “remains one of the most vital sources of India’s democratic strength”, as he underlined that despite the progress on gender equality, “the journey remains far from complete”.

“The task before us is not merely to celebrate the symbolic achievements or token representations but to ensure that women have a real and equal share in spaces of power, decision-making, and opportunity,” the Chief Justice of India further said.