Marathi medium helped my conceptual understanding in school: CJI Gavai
The CJI virtually held back his tears as he opened his heart at a lawyers' event in Maharashtra, saying, 'I am happy my father's dream to see me become a judge has come true.'
The CJI, the first Buddhist to occupy the top post, fondly remembered his father and his early days in the legal profession at the 161st-anniversary celebrations of the Advocates Association of Western India (AAWI), an organisation he joined in 1983.
On Sunday, the CJI visited Chikitsak Samuh Shirodkar School in Girgaon, reminiscing about his childhood memories. Having studied from primary to secondary levels at this very institution, he expressed deep gratitude to the teachers who shaped his early life.
Speaking at the school, Chief Justice Gavai said, 'Whatever height I have reached today, my teachers and this school have played a significant role in it. The education and values I received here gave direction to my life.'
'My journey in public speaking began on this very stage. Through speech competitions and cultural programmes, I gained confidence. It is because of those opportunities that I am what I am today,' he recalled.
The CJI added, 'I studied in a Marathi-medium school. Studying in one's mother tongue helps in better conceptual understanding, and also instils strong values that stay with you for life.'
Justice Gavai toured the classrooms, library, and art section of the school, interacting warmly with his old classmates and reliving fond memories. The heartfelt tribute given by the students was a deeply emotional and proud moment for him. His visit was a matter of great honour and inspiration for the school.
Present on the occasion were Maharashtra's Skill Development Minister and Mumbai City Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Bombay High Court Justice Madhav Jamadar, Chikitsak Samuh President Kishore Rangnekar, Secretary Dr Gurunath Pandit, Principal Sanchita Gawde, and other dignitaries.
Justice Gavai comes from a distinguished background. His father, Ramakrishna Suryabhan Gavai, was a prominent Ambedkarite leader and founder of the Republican Party of India (RPI).
Fondly known as Dadasaheb, the senior Gavai was also a member of the Lok Sabha from Amravati and served as the Governor of Bihar, Sikkim, and Kerala between 2006 and 2011 during the tenure of the Congress-led UPA government. He passed away in 2015, four years before his son's elevation to the Supreme Court.
Justice Gavai was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.
In the six years before his elevation, he was a part of around 700 Benches dealing with matters pertaining to a variety of subjects, including constitutional and administrative law, civil law, criminal law, commercial disputes, arbitration law, electricity law, education matters and environmental law.
He has authored around 300 judgments, including that of the Constitution Bench on various issues, upholding the rule of law and safeguarding the fundamental rights, human rights and legal rights of citizens.
Appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in November 2003, Justice Gavai became a permanent Judge in November 2005.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
14 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Congress minister, MLAs meet Rajanna; BJP leader invites him to join party
Rajanna, who was Cooperative Minister was removed from the cabinet on Monday, following directions from the Congress high command, according to party sources. His recent comments on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'votes theft' allegations during 2024 Lok Sabha polls, seems to have proved costly for him.
Hans India
14 minutes ago
- Hans India
Street dog menace: Oppn MLAs want SC directions to be extended to State
Bengaluru: Opposition MLAs on Wednesday urged the Karnataka government to implement the Supreme Court directives on addressing the street dog menace in the state and take steps to protect the residents. The MLAs highlighted the stray dog issue near Vidhana Soudha and the Legislators' Home, and sought the Speaker's intervention. These remarks by the MLAs came after the Supreme Court directed Delhi-NCR authorities to permanently relocate all strays from streets to shelters 'at the earliest'. The top court noted that there was an 'extremely grim' situation due to stray dog bites resulting in rabies, particularly among children. The call for action comes a day after two college students were attacked by stray dogs here and they were hospitalised. The incident occurred inside the Jnanabharathi campus, near Kengeri. Raising the issue, soon after the Question Hour, JD(S) floor leader in the Assembly C B Suresh Babu said if all the corporations of the state were to take similar action, it would protect the children. Senior BJP MLA Suresh Kumar said the apex court's directions should be extended to all parts of the country. 'In the last six months, 18,000 dog bites have been reported in Bengaluru, 18 people were infected by rabies. It should become applicable even in Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Mysuru and other places,' he said. Another BJP MLA C N Ashwath Narayan said the court order should also be applied to the premises of Vidhana Soudha, the seat of Karnataka legislature and secretariat here, where there is street dog menace. 'There are about two lakh reported dog bite incidents, it is a serious matter. We can send them (dogs) on the streets, to dog lovers' houses. The Chief Minister has tweeted expressing sympathy.... the government should take action, the Supreme Court directions should be implemented in Karnataka too,' he added. In the wake of the SC directive to Delhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said treating stray dogs as a nuisance to be 'removed' is not governance - it is 'cruelty'. Humane societies find solutions that protect people and animals, he said, adding that, 'Sterilisation, vaccination, and community care work. Fear-driven measures only create more suffering, not safety.' Pointing to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) Rs 2.88 crore plan to feed about 4,000 street dogs in the city, which had led to a debate on social media recently, Suresh Babu said, 'Instead of the corporation serving Biryani to dogs, let the authorities take measures to control their menace.' On the dog menace at the Legislators' Home, BJP MLA Umanatha Kotian said, 'We can't step out, dogs are (Speaker) should take note and give instructions to officials.' Expressing helplessness, Speaker U T Khader said, 'Some legislators want the dogs to be around, some don't want...' A few other legislators too requested the Speaker to take action, pointing out that both Vidhana Soudha and Legislators' Home come under the Speaker's jurisdiction. Earlier in February, Speaker Khader had announced that it has been decided to build shelters for dogs and to manage them with the help of NGOs, aimed at resolving the problem caused by street dogs on the Vidhana Soudha premises. He had made it clear that the dogs won't be shifted elsewhere.
NDTV
14 minutes ago
- NDTV
Chief Justice's Bench To Hear Petition For Restoration Of J&K's Statehood
Srinagar: A Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran will shortly hear a petition for the restoration of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir. The petition seeks the implementation of a 2023 top court order. On December 11, 2023, a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court had upheld the abrogation of Article 370, but directed the central government to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood "at the earliest". The Centre had told the court that "statehood will be restored to Jammu and Kashmir and that its status as a Union territory is temporary". After the central government's submission, the five-judge bench headed by then Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had said the court would not examine whether turning a state into a Union Territory was permissible under Article 3 of the Constitution. "In view of the submission made by the Solicitor General that statehood would be restored in Jammu and Kashmir, we do not find it necessary to determine whether the reorganisation of the State of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir is permissible under Article 3," it had said. A petition now seeks restoration of statehood within two months and terms the delay a violation of India's federal structure. "The non-restoration of the status of Statehood of Jammu and Kashmir in a time-bound manner violates the idea of federalism which forms a part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India," it says. Jammu and Kashmir was stripped of its statehood and special status under Article 370 in August 2019. Since then, the Centre has repeatedly assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir that statehood will be restored "at an appropriate time". Recently, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote to leaders of all political parties, including BJP and Congress, urging them to introduce a Bill in the current session of Parliament to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Abdullah said that restoration of statehood was not a favour but an essential course correction. He cautioned leaders that the precedent of downgrading a state into a Union Territory would have unsettling consequences for the country and it should be a red line that is never crossed. "The restoration must not be viewed as a concession, but as an essential course correction-one that prevents us from sliding down a dangerous and slippery slope where the statehood of our constituent States is no longer regarded as a foundational and sacred constitutional right but reduced instead to a discretionary favour bestowed at the will of the Central Government," Mr Abdullah wrote.
