Judicial Activism Bound To Stay, Shouldn't Turn Into Judicial Terrorism, Adventurism: CJI Gavai

News18

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Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Friday said while judicial activism was bound to stay, it cannot be converted into judicial adventurism or judicial terrorism.
Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Friday once again cautioned against judicial overreach, stressing that while judicial activism was bound to stay, it cannot be converted into judicial adventurism or judicial terrorism.
While speaking at an event organised by Nagpur district court bar association, the Chief Justice emphasised the importance of maintaining constitutional boundaries between the three organs of democracy.
He further said that when it is found that the legislature or the executive has failed in their duties to safeguard the rights of the citizens, the judiciary is bound to step in.
'All the three wings of the Indian democracy- legislature, executive and judiciary- have been given their limits and boundaries. All the three wings have to work as per law and its provisions. When the Parliament goes beyond the law or rule, the judiciary can step in then," he said as quoted by the news agencies.
CJI Gavai further said that if the judiciary tries to interfere unnecessarily in the functioning of the other two pillars, that must be avoided.
'However, I always say that though judicial activism is bound to stay, it should not be permitted to be converted to judicial adventurism and judicial terrorism," CJI Gavai said.
Judicial activism is necessary for upholding the Constitution and the rights of citizens, the CJI asserted.
He hailed legendary social reformer and jurist Dr BR Ambedkar and said the entire nation has to be thankful for the latter's immense contribution.
The Nagpur bar association is the most secular bar with members from all castes and religions, the CJI said, adding he had seen Hindu lawyers working for the cause of the Muslim community and vice versa.
The event was attended by Supreme Court justices Dipankar Datta, Prasanna Varale, and Atul Chandurkar, along with Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe, senior administrative judge of Nagpur bench Nitin Sambre, senior judge Anil Kilor, and others.
Earlier this month, the Chief Justice also emphasised on same issue while speaking at the Oxford Union, an event organised by advocate-on-record Tanvi Dubey.
He had said that while judicial activism will stay and play a role in India, it should not devolve into 'judicial terrorism", adding that there are times when people try to exceed the limits and try to enter into an area where, normally, the judiciary should not enter.
'…That power (judicial review) has to be exercised in a very limited area in very exception cases, like, say, a statute, is violative of the basic structure of the Constitution, or it is in direct conflict with any of the fundamental rights of the Constitution, or if the statute is so patently arbitrary, discriminatory, the courts can exercise it, and the courts have done so," the CJI added.
Speaking at the event, CJI Gavai also highlighted that decades ago, millions of Indians were referred to as 'untouchables'.
However, the Constitution of India ensured that an individual from that same group is now addressing the Oxford Union as the holder of the country's highest judicial office.
First Published:
June 28, 2025, 07:43 IST