Electoral Bonds, bulldozer justice among key verdicts by Chief Justice BR Gavai

BR Gavai is the first Chief Justice of India from the Buddhist community and only the second judge from the Scheduled Castes to hold the office.

In Short

• Justice BR Gavai has authored over 200 judgments in his career
• Condemned bulldozer justice, set strict norms against property demolition
• Part of benches on Electoral Bonds ban, demonetisation, Article 370 abrogation

Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was on Wednesday sworn in as the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI), becoming the first Buddhist and only the second judge from the Scheduled Castes to hold the office. His elevation is both historic and symbolic, representing the values of inclusivity and constitutional morality that the judiciary upholds.

India’s 52nd Chief Justice, BR Gavai, has previously authored more than 200 judgments during his tenure as a Judge of the Supreme Court. He has also been part of several Constitution benches. As the incumbent Chief Justice with a declared objective of "upholding socioeconomic justice", he is also expected to take up several pending matters.

LANDMARK VERDICTS BY JUSTICE BR GAVAI:

BULLDOZER JUSTICE: In November 2024, a Division Bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan condemned the "bulldozer actions" by various states and held that the properties/houses of the accused in any case, cannot be demolished only on the grounds that they are accused or convicted for a crime. The Court laid down stringent norms to curb these bulldozer actions.

CREAMY LAYER AND SUB-CLASSIFICATION IN SC/STs: In the state of Punjab vs Davinder Singh case, the verdict of 2024 a seven-judge Constitution Bench also comprising Justices DY Chandrachud, Vikram Nath, Bela M Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma, by a 6-1 majority, held that subclassification of Scheduled Castes among reserved categories is permissible for granting separate quotas for more backwards within the SC categories.

Justice Gavai, in his separate opinion, stated that nearly 75 years have elapsed from the day on which the Constitution was brought into effect.

"The State must evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer even from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to exclude them from the benefit of affirmative action. In my view, only this and this alone can achieve the real equality as enshrined under the Constitution," he added.

This opinion, coming from a Dalit Judge, was widely discussed across the country, with both appreciation and criticism from SC/ST communities.

ELECTORAL BONDS: Justice Gavai was also part of the Constitution Bench that struck down the 2018 Electoral Bonds Scheme. In February 2024, the Court held that the scheme infringed upon the citizens’ right to information and compromised transparency in public funding.

The Court also directed that the sale of electoral bonds be stopped with immediate effect. The State Bank of India was directed to submit details of the Electoral Bonds purchased from April 12, 2019 till the date of the verdict, to the Election Commission.

BAIL TO MANISH SISODIA: While granting interim bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia in 2024 in both the CBI and ED in connection with the Delhi Excise scam case, the Bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan raised concerns about the prolonged period of incarceration suffered by Sisodia.

In consideration of various earlier pronouncements, the Court emphasised that the right to a speedy trial is a fundamental right within the broad scope of Article 21 of the Constitution.

DEMONETISATION: In 2023, Justice Gavai authored the majority opinion upholding the Centre’s 2016 demonetisation scheme. The five-judge Constitution bench, in a majority verdict, held that demonetisation was proportionate to the Union’s stated objectives and was implemented in a reasonable manner.

ARTICLE 370 ABROGATION: Justice Gavai was a member of the five-judge bench that unanimously upheld the abrogation of Article 370 in 2023, which revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. It held that J&K did not retain its sovereignty after the proclamation made by Yuvraj Karan Singh in 1949.

MODI SURNAME DEFAMATION CASE: The three-judge bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Sanjay Kumar, in the Rahul Gandhi vs Purnesh Ishwarbhai Modi case, in 2023, issued a stay on the Congress leader’s conviction while hearing his appeal against the Gujarat High court verdict.

The court held that denial of stay would not only affect the right of the appellant to continue in public life but also affect the right of the electorate, who elected him, to represent their constituency. Further, it held that no reason was given by the Trial Court for imposing the maximum sentence.

BAIL TO CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST TEESTA SETALVAD: A three-judge bench of Justices BR Gavai, AS Bopanna and Dipankar Datta, in 2023, granted regular bail to civil rights activist Teesta Atul Setalvad in a case of alleged fabricating evidence in a case arising out of the 2002 Godhra riots.

ARTICLE 370 INTERNET BAN IN J&K: A 3-judge bench comprising Justices NV Ramana, R Subhash Reddy and BR Gavai, in Anuradha Bhasin vs Union of India verdict of 2020, directed the Jammu-Kashmir administration to review all orders imposing telecom and internet curbs within one week and put them in public domain. The bench also held that such curbs had to be reasonable and not arbitrary.