Constitution bench that decided on Presidential Reference ‘used swadeshi interpretation’: CJI B R Gavai

Chief Justice of India B R Gavai made the remark during the ceremonial bench sitting of the Supreme Court on Friday ahead of his retirement. It is customary to hold a ceremonial bench sitting whenever a judge retires.

“I have always tried to do justice whenever possible by balancing the fundamental rights with directive principles,” said CJI B R Gavai. (Source: File)

Chief Justice of India B R Gavai Friday said that the five-judge Constitution bench which decided on the Presidential Reference matter had relied only on “swadeshi interpretation.”

“In our yesterday’s judgment, we did not use a single foreign judgment and we have observed that we used swadeshi interpretation,” the CJI said, sharing the ceremonial bench sitting in Court No.1 ahead of his retirement on Sunday. It is customary to hold a ceremonial bench sitting whenever a judge retires.

CJI Gavai was responding to remarks by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who said, “after your taking over and with Justice Surya Kant, a fresh breeze of Indianness in our jurisprudence has started flowing in, which is seen in the judgments.” Justice Surya Kant will succeed CJI Gavai as the 53rd Chief Justice of India.

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On November 20, a five-judge bench presided by the CJI stated that no timeline can be fixed for the President and Governors to act on Bills passed by state legislatures. The apex court was rendering its opinion on the reference made to it by President Droupadi Murmu following an April 8 judgment that fixed timelines for the two constitutional functionaries.

The decision also referred to the “swadeshi” nature of the Constitution. The judgement had said, “While our Constitutional text may have been inspired by comparative outlook, its interpretation and working, we believe is truly swadeshi.” It added in another part, “The point that is being made is this – the Indian Constitution is not just transformative in its adoption, it has been and continues to be transformative in its practice and interpretation, shedding its colonial vestiges for a vibrant and evolving swadeshi foundation.”

On Friday, the CJI said, “I have always believed that every judge and lawyer is bound by the four principles on which our Constitution stands – equality, justice, liberty and fraternity. And I have tried to discharge my duties within the four corners of the Constitution.”

“When I joined the profession in 1985, I joined as a student of law. Today, when I demit my office, I do it as a student of justice,” the CJI said, adding that he always believed that the offices he held were “not one of power, but an opportunity to serve the society, to serve the nation.”

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“I have always tried to do justice whenever possible by balancing the fundamental rights with directive principles,” said CJI Gavai.