Former Chief Justice of India Justice BR Gavai stated that the Constitution does not treat equality as a mere formal guarantee but requires the State and institutions to actively address and dismantle structural conditions that perpetuate inequality.
Delivering the inaugural Dr. Ambedkar Memorial Lecture titled “Sustainable Development & Substantive Equality: A Constitutional Dialogue” at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, Justice Gavai emphasised that substantive equality lies at the heart of the constitutional vision and must guide policy-making, governance, and development models.
"The Constitution does not envision equality as a mere formal assurance. It demands that we confront and dismantle the underlying structures that produce inequality," he said.Justice Gavai observed that the constitutional promise of equality goes beyond formal recognition of rights.
He explained that structural discrimination often manifests as layered disadvantages affecting access to education, healthcare, employment, and institutional support. These disadvantages, he noted, are not isolated incidents but systemic outcomes that persist across generations.He spoke of how there is an invisible cost to development, the brunt of which is faced by the most marginalised sections of society.
"Many of these women have undergone hysterectomies at a very young age, not out of medical necessity, but because the labour system effectively penalises menstruation, pregnancy, or any interruption in work,” he said. Justice Gavai added that similarly, it is the Adivasi communities that suffer the most during drought or the farmers who commit suicide because of excessive rainfalls that destroy crops
The former Chief Justice also spoke about how climate change and environmental degradation do not affect everyone equally. He said that while many of us, who are privileged, can use air-conditioning to protect ourselves from extreme heat. But no such protection is available to those engaged in manual or outdoor labour.
Justice Gavai stated that in order to deal with these instances, it is necessary to connect the idea of sustainable development with substantive equality. He stated that while Courts have recognised various aspects of sustainable development, it must be seen as a constitutional vision that ensures that development doesn't deepen existing hierarchies. Instead, it works to dismantle them.
"The disparities that we see today, rooted in caste, class, gender, and geography, must not be reproduced in the environmental futures we are seeking to build."Justice Gavai suggested that the policy approach in such cases should not be adopting a "one-size-fits-all" approach because this will end up enforcing existing hierarchies, as it ignores the unequal starting points of different communities.
He said that a university committed to substantive equality must ensure that the workers have adequate access to shaded areas, resting spaces, and clean drinking water. He suggested that universities must also take effort to have collective or group health insurance for outsourced and contractual workers.
Justice Gavai also serves as the Chair Professor on Constitution Law and Social Inclusion of NALSAR's Dr Ambedkar Centre. In his inaugural lecture, he stated that he accepted the offer of Chair Professorship on condition that he would not take any remuneration.
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