By Sanjay Raman Sinha
As Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai steps down as the 52nd chief justice of India, his short but eventful tenure stands out for its constitutional conviction and personal symbolism. Only the second Dalit to occupy India’s highest judicial office, Justice Gavai frequently articulated the urgency of addressing historical injustice. “The Constitution dares to intervene, to rewrite the script, to recalibrate power, and to restore dignity,” he once remarked—an ethos that quietly, but firmly informed his decisions.
A stickler for constitutional propriety, Justice Gavai’s tenure concluded with one of its strongest assertions of judicial independence. Days before demitting office, his bench struck down the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021, criticising the government for reintroducing provisions previously invalidated by the apex court. It was a principled stand that reinforced the boundaries of legislative overreach.
Perhaps his most publicly resonant intervention was the condemnation of what he termed “bulldozer justice”. In a sharply worded verdict co-authored with Justice Sandeep Mehta, the bench held that demolitions carried out against accused persons—often without notice or due process—were a direct assault on the rule of law. The judgment, widely praised, reiterated that the executive cannot act as “judge, jury and executioner”.
Justice Gavai was also central to pivotal political cases. In 2023, when the arrest of human rights activist Teesta Setalvad raised concerns about state power being deployed against dissent, a bench led by him granted her bail. He described the lower court’s order denying relief as “perverse,” emphasising that continued detention lacked justification.
Similarly, Justice Gavai was part of the bench that stayed the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case involving the prime minister’s surname—holding that the consequence of disqualification from Parliament was “grossly disproportionate”.
On the question of caste justice, Justice Gavai concurred with the majority in permitting sub-classification within Scheduled Castes, enabling affirmative action benefits to reach the most deprived among them.
Yet his tenure was not without decisions that drew sharp criticism. He authored the majority ruling that upheld the centre’s 2016 demonetisation, a verdict criticised for overlooking the widespread disruption caused by the policy. He was also part of the five-judge bench that unanimously upheld the abrogation of Article 370—a judgment celebrated by some, but viewed by others as legitimising excessive executive power.
When a bench he served on upheld the extended tenure of the Enforcement Directorate director, critics argued that the verdict weakened institutional independence. His tenure also saw turbulence within the judiciary itself, notably the leak of Justice BV Nagarathna’s dissent regarding a Collegium recommendation—an episode that raised questions about transparency and internal processes.
Despite these flashpoints, Justice Gavai ended his term on a note of ethical clarity by declining any post-retirement government appointment—a gesture that resonated strongly in an era where such offers are increasingly scrutinised.
Often outspoken, sometimes controversial, but never doubted for his integrity, Justice Gavai’s legacy lies not only in his judgments, but in the symbolism he brought to the office—a Dalit jurist breaking a glass ceiling, carrying with him a deep sense of constitutional compassion. His tenure, though brief, will remain enduring.
The post A Brief Tenure That Left a Long Shadow on India’s Constitutional Landscape appeared first on India Legal.