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BR Gavai farewell speech: Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai is among the justices who have been active public speakers, vocalising thoughts and ideas about the nation, the judiciary, and society.
Friday marks the last working day for outgoing Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, who was sworn in as the 52nd CJI, on May 14. He retires on November 23 (Sunday). Before his elevation to the top court on May 24, 2019, he was a judge of the Bombay High Court.
CJI Gavai had quite an eventful tenure, which saw him share his thoughts on an array of topics both inside and outside the confines of the courtroom.
In one such public interaction, he deliberated on the role of the judiciary as both guardian and moral conscience of the Constitution. On November 20, at an event organised by the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association marking his farewell, the CJI called himself “truly secular” and a believer of all religions.
Here are five noteworthy public interactions of CJI Gavai since he came the top judge of India’s highest court:
In the farewell ceremony organised by the Supreme Court Advocate on Records Association on Thursday, CJI B R Gavai talked about his religious sentiments and inspirations and said, “I practice Buddhism but I don’t have any depth in any religious studies. I am truly a secular person. I believe in all religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam. I learnt from my father because my father was also a truly secular person.”
In the ceremony, he also talked about demitting his office on November 23 with a “sense of contentment and happiness”. Reflecting on his journey of more than 40 years, he noted that the institution of the Judiciary shaped him and expressed gratitude, saying, “This institution, the Judiciary of the country, has given me a lot.”
CJI B R Gavai pointed out that he nourishes the constitutional values and said, “I have tried to live by the four corners on which the Indian Constitution stands – justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.”
While delivering the 30th Justice Sunanda Bhandare Memorial Lecture, 2025 on the subject “Justice for All: Building a Gender Equal and Inclusive India”, CJI Gavai emphasised that gender progress has not been achieved by the judiciary alone but by the collective voices of people who have challenged the regressive precedents and corrected them through “reform, reinterpretation and legislative intervention”.
“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 said.
Highlighting that the journey of gender progress is far from complete, he also mentioned that the dialogue between courts and people remains one of the “most vital sources of India’s democratic strength.”
CJI B R Gavai, while speaking at the valedictory function of the National Conference on ‘Strengthening Legal Aid Delivery Mechanisms’ on November 9, reflected on the relationship of the judiciary with legal aid.
Noting that the “judicial training often teaches’ judges ‘ to maintain a certain distance, to weigh evidence dispassionately, and to apply reasoned judgment,” CJI Gavai talked about the importance of the legal work and pointed out that “it demands the opposite sensibilities: empathy, collaboration, and the ability to see beyond procedure into the conditions that produce injustice”.
While talking at the ‘6th Full Meeting of the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts’, the CJI B R Gavai said, the Supreme Court has ensured that it does not interfere in the policy matters which have economic considerations involved unless there is a violation of fundamental rights or other provisions of the Constitution.
CJI Gavai also talked about the transformation of the nation since 1991 and remarked that the judiciary has been a steady guardian of the rule of law.
“The Court has ensured predictability and certainty, which are core elements of the rule of law,” he added.
On his four-day official visit to Bhutan, CJI Gavai, spoke at the Royal Institute of Management on ‘Courts and Constitutional Governance’ as part of the Fifth Wisdom for Future Talk Series hosted by JSW School of Law and highlighted the role of the judiciary and courts in the nation.
He said that the courts are not merely adjudicatory bodies that resolve disputes between parties but are “vital organs of constitutional governance that safeguard the rule of law, protect fundamental rights and ensure that every exercise of power remains accountable to constitutional principles”.
He also mentioned that the court should be guided by the “spirit of the Constitution” and by the vision of the people who framed it.
Delivering the inaugural address at the 10th Annual Stakeholders Consultation on ‘Safeguarding the Girl Child: Towards a Safer and Enabling Environment for Her in India’ organised by the Supreme Court, CJI Gavai talked about the challenges that have emerged in today’s technological era. He noted that these challenges have expanded from online harassment, cyberbullying, and digital stalking to the misuse of personal data and deepfake imagery.
He stressed the protection of girl children as a core priority of digital governance, highlighting that children, particularly girls, are especially vulnerable to these new technologies.
Responding to the incident where a lawyer in his seventies allegedly hurled a shoe toward CJI Gavai inside his courtroom, he told The Indian Express that he asked the lawyer arguing before him to “just ignore it”.
“I am not distracted by all this. You also don’t be distracted and proceed further with the case,” he said while recalling his immediate response to the incident.
CJI Gavai directed the Supreme Court Registry not to take any action against the lawyer and later he was released.
The incident stemmed from the lawyer’s protest over the latter’s remarks during a hearing of a plea seeking restoration of a Lord Vishnu idol in the Khajuraho Temple complex in Madhya Pradesh.
“I believe in all the religions, I respect all the (religions),” he said while clarifying his earlier remarks during the court hearing.
While inaugurating the first Prof (Dr) N R Madhava Menon Memorial Lecture, CJI Gavai spoke about the need to reimagine legal education by expanding its reach through technology. He also suggested measures such as promoting instruction in regional languages, strengthening legal aid, and creating pathways for first-generation learners as instruments to transform legal education in India.
Addressing the judges, lawyers, academics, and students, he remarked that only by doing so we can ensure that access to law and justice is not a privilege for the few, but a lived reality for every citizen of this Republic.
At a felicitation function organised by the Goa High Court Bar Association in Panaji, CJI Gavai talked about the impact of one judgment of sub-classification of Scheduled Castes for reservation. He said he had faced criticism including from his own community.
He emphasised that despite the criticism, he had always believed that his judgment should be written not by the demands of the people or desires of the people, but as per the law and his understanding and conscience.
On the 22nd annual convocation of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (Nalsar) University of Law, CJI Gavai addressed law students on the significance of knowing the law. He said that the foundation starts with first being grounded with the basics of law and being consistent in learning.
Describing the legal profession as noble, CJI Gavai added that this profession demands to constantly prove themselves, to the court, their clients, peers, and often to themselves.
