I Am Truly Secular, I Believe In All Religions & Practice Buddhism : CJI BR Gavai

“I always believed that the Supreme Court Bar Association, as well as the SCAORA, should always be taken on board wherever the issues with regard to the problems of the bar were concerned. I must say, with a matter of satisfaction that after we took over as a judges, after we have sworn as the judges and myself, Justice Surya Kant, and Justice Maheshwari, were made the members of the chamber allotment committee. The issue with regard to chamber which was pending for years together, I think we could resolve it within two or three meetings”, he shared.

The CJI was addressing the farewell gathering organised by the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association for his forthcoming demission of office.

He said that while most judges would have a busy evening preparing for Friday's board, he felt a “sense of relief” after pronouncing two judgments earlier in the day - the Constitution Bench opinion in the Presidential and another judgment concerning the Aravalli hill ranges.

Justice Gavai shared that he practised Buddhism but did not have depth in religious studies. Calling himself “a truly secular person”, he said he believed in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Islam. He said he learned this approach from his father, an ardent follower of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, adding that he knew “a bit of Dhammapada” but not in depth.

“I practice Buddhism, but I do not have any depth in any religious studies. I am truly a secular person. I believe in all the religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam. I learned from my father, because my father was also a truly secular person. He was an ardent follower of Dr Ambedkar, and growing up with him whenever we used to visit various places for his political functions if his friends said that 'Sir yahan chalo yahan ka dargah famous hai, yahan ka gurudwara famous hai.' So I have been brought up that way to respect all the religions too.”

He said he would demit office and hand over charge to Justice Surya Kant, with a sense of contentment at the end of a journey of almost 41 years. He said the judiciary had given him a lot and he owed his gratitude to the institution. Recalling his and Justice Surya Kant's early lives, he said both began with humble backgrounds. He studied in a municipal school in a semi-slum area of Amravati, while Justice Surya Kant studied in a village school in Hisar.

He said the Constitution, the values it enshrines, and the work of Dr. Ambedkar made it possible for someone studying on the floor of a municipal school to reach his position. He said he tried to live by the four constitutional principles of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. He said that whatever he had achieved as Chief Justice in the past six months and 10 days and as a Supreme Court judge in the last six and a half years was because of the institution.

He further stated said that after he took over, the court worked collectively rather than in a Chief Justice-centric manner. Many of the decisions taken were based on demands of the Bar, he said, and were taken by all judges together. He said the full court tried to address Bar-related issues as soon as they were placed before it.

Justice Gavai said the Supreme Court functioned through the combined work of judges, lawyers, the registry and the staff. He said SCBA and SCAORA were always taken on board on Bar-related issues.

“I always believe that Supreme Court is a very great institution, and unless all the stakeholders work together, like all the judges of the Supreme Court, the bar of the Supreme Court, the registry of the Supreme Court, the staff of the Supreme Court, as I said yesterday, in the felicitation function of the staff, that the people only see the face of the Supreme Court judges when a judgment comes. But it is not only the judges, but it is the entire Supreme Court, the contribution of the registry, the contribution of the staff, which goes into the decision making. And therefore, I always believed that the Supreme Court Bar Association, as well as the SCAORA, should always be taken on board wherever the issues with regard to the problems of the bar were concerned”, CJI Gavai said.

He said that as Chairman of the building committee, when plans for the new Supreme Court building were being finalised, office-bearers of both associations were invited for inputs and the plans were amended after considering their suggestions. He said the building should not be only for judges but also for lawyers and litigants, who are the “end consumer of justice”.

Justice Gavai expressed gratitude to SCAORA for its cooperation during his six and a half years as a judge and during his tenure as Chief Justice. He concluded by saying that through his more than 40-year journey he had tried to uphold the rule of law, the majesty of law, and constitutional principles.