The 52nd CJI, Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai, is the first Buddhist to head the judicial family in the country. His father, G.S. Gavai, who headed the Gavai faction of the Republican Party of India, embraced Buddhism in the presence of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

CJI Gavai has authored 300 judgements, including landmark rulings on constitutional issues, liberty, and the government’s “bulldozer justice”. where the government used bulldozers to demolish the homes of those accused of serious crimes, especially those from certain minority groups.

President Droupadi Murmu, who comes from the backward Santhal tribe in Jharkhand, administered the oath of office to CJI Gavai in chaste Hindi, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who comes from the OBC group, looked on unsmilingly. The three top constitutional posts of President, Prime Minister, and CJI are now occupied by dignitaries who do not come from privileged families.

Among those present was Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who has attacked the judiciary for allegedly overstepping its lakshman rekha by formulating the basic structure doctrine. He called the striking down of the NJAC Act a “severe compromise” of parliamentary sovereignty and disregard of the “mandate of the people”.

He, like the former president Ram Nath Kovind, is a designated senior advocate. The Rajasthan High Court designated him a senior advocate, but his criticism of the judiciary appears to have curtailed its propensity to do justice by declaring the law of the land, which it has the authority to do. As the Vice President, Dhankhar ranks........

© Free Press Journal