Top lawyers hail ‘people’s judge’ B R Gavai

Here’s what they said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta acknowledged the CJI as the judge of a common man. He also praised CJI’s intellect and integrity.

“Justice Gavai is a humane individual as a person, as a judge and as a CJI. He has been a judge of a common man. His intellect, integrity and industry is unparalleled,” he told The Indian Express.

While hailing CJI for his humility, Mehta said, “Being the Chief Justice of the most powerful Court in the world and still continuing to be grounded and humble is a rare feat. Justice Gavai could successfully maintain this virtue.”

Mehta said that the CJI Gavai exhibited a rare intellect in deciding many landmark judgments and maintained impartiality.

“He made the jurisprudence richer by being on the bench. His contribution in law making and his touching the lives of lacs of people during his tenure will be remembered forever. His smiling face will be missed in the Supreme Court,” Mehta said.

While the CJI’s tenure saw several landmark decisions and public interactions not only in India but abroad, the shoe-hurling incident came as a shocker for the entire legal fraternity. Following the incident, though the CJI expressed “shock” he insisted that it ought to be treated as “a forgotten chapter.” The CJI had then refused to press charges against the advocate who had attacked him and said “I am not distracted by all this.”

At the time when the ceremonial bench presided today, Attorney General of India, R Venkataramani explained the meaning of the CJI’s name.

“In Marathi Bhushan has a nice meaning which means ‘Alankar’ besides other meanings namely embellishment, adornment,” he said.

Venkataramani shared that the CJI had brought “alankar” to his family, institutions in which he worked and to all.

Senior advocate and Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh applauded the CJI for not distinguishing between the bar and the bench.

“I on behalf of the entire bar want to say that we have really really felt that your lordships have been one of us. Your lordships have treated us not as on the other side as if we are all on the same side. Your lordships have never created that distinction that bar and bench are not part of the same coin. It’s just the different sides of the same coin,” he said.

Singh was certain that the CJI would cherish “all the hats” — as a lawyer and a judge — he wore during his career and post retirement.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra underscored CJI Gavai’s humility and sensitivity to the cause of the common man.

“Justice Gavai had a wonderful tenure in the Supreme Court, culminating with his attaining the office of Chief Justice and then demitting it. In all this while, there are a few things that stand out about him. Firstly, his humility. Second, his sensitivity to the cause of the common individual. Thirdly, his ability to connect with people. Fourth, his grace and decency both in court and outside court,” Luthra said.

The senior counsel termed CJI Gavai as people’s judge and hailed him as someone who stood for the rights of the common man.

“He is a person known for having an elephantine memory, not only about the work and the cases that he does, but also about trivia and his human connect is exceptional. I will miss him in this court and hope to see him more, now that he is free from the limits of office. I wish him the best in life. It is important for the judicial institution to have more judges like him in this court in the years to come. I would call him a people’s judge and one who stood up for liberty and rights of the common man,” he told The Indian Express.

While speaking to The Indian Express earlier in the day, senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal had also lauded the CJI.

Senior advocate Siddhartha Dave shared a similar sentiment, admiring the outgoing judge’s “extraordinary and rare” attributes.

“CJI Gavai was a judge for the people of India. In any case before him, the rights of people of this country were of primary importance. When a citizen was pitted against the might of the state, Justice Gavai, instinctively, was on the side of the citizen and corrected the wrongs done by the state. That is what made him such an extraordinary and rare judge,” Dave said.

Senior advocate Sajan Poovayya highlighted the graciousness with which the CJI had carried the weight of the Supreme Court.

“As Chief Justice Gavai prepares to demit office, what stands out most is the graciousness with which he carried the weight of the Supreme Court. He brought to the courtroom an atmosphere of pleasantness and sanity- qualities that soothed tempers, elevated the quality of dialogue, and reminded everyone that justice is best served in an environment of dignity,” he said.

Poovayya also appreciated CJI Gavai’s ability to make complexity intelligible without diluting its depth.

While terming him as the most even-handed judge, he said, “Whether granting bail to members of the political opposition or scrutinising those in power, he held a steady equilibrium.”

CJI Gavai joined the bar in 1985 and appeared regularly for various autonomous bodies and Corporations and various municipal councils in Vidarbha region.

The top court’s judge was elevated as Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in 2003 and became a permanent Judge in 2005. He was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court in 2019 and was appointed as the Chief Justice of India on May 14 2025.

The outgoing CJI has authored around 300 judgments including Constitution Bench Judgements on various issues upholding the rule of law and safeguarding the fundamental rights, human rights and legal rights of citizens.

He has attended various international conferences at Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), New York (U.S.A), Cardiff (U.K.) and Nairobi (Kenya). He has delivered lectures on various constitutional and environmental issues in various Universities and Organizations including Columbia University and Harvard University.