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November 23, 2025, 09:43 PM - 3 min read
Rejecting the popular notion that a judge will not be seen as independent unless he/she rules against the government, outgoing Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Sunday termed this as and called it an “incorrect approach”. He said it is not necessary for any judge to rule against the government to prove independence. CJI Gavai, who was speaking to journalists at his official residence here on his last day in office, said, “Unless you decide against the government, you are not an independent judge... That is not correct. You do not decide as to whether the litigant is the government or a private citizen. You decide as per the papers before you.” Calling it an incorrect approach, he said that in contemporary jurisprudence, a judge was called ‘independent’ only if the decision was given against the government. CJI Gavai said decision of a judge in a case must be based strictly on the papers before the court, and it is incorrect to state that the judiciary always has to rule against the government. “Moreover, for infrastructure development in the judiciary, we have to depend on the government. We (judiciary) don't have the power of the purse. So, there will be friction at times. But I don't think that continuous friction is needed, it will unnecessarily lead to problems,” he said. During an interaction with journalists at his residence, CJI Gavai also spoke about Justice BV Nagarathna's dissent within the Collegium with regard to the elevation of Justice Vipul Pancholi to the apex court, and that it was not accepted by other Collegium judges. He said that Collegium system continues to maintain institutional autonomy, while also considering inputs from the Intelligence Bureau and Union Law Ministry.Pertinently, he said that a separate law would be needed to tackle hate speech. Referring to the Centre's cooperation, Justice Gavai highlighted that the government cleared nearly all names recommended by the Collegium during his tenure.The CJI said he was never pressured by any government during his more than two-decade-long as a judge of the high court and the top court. On air pollution and the least impact of court orders, he said the state and its authorities must found long-term solutions to tackle the issue. He also referred to poor implementation of court orders such as the ban on firecrackers.
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November 21, 2025, 04:07 PM - 8 min read
Donald Tusk’s government in Poland has struggled to reverse changes to the judicial system made by the previous nationalist, conservative government.
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November 1, 2025, 07:17 PM - 3 min read
Calling for reforms in judicial appointments in the country, senior advocate Harish Salve on Saturday said that some of India's finest judges were appointed during a period when the executive held full control over judicial appointments. It may be time to revisit the current system and correct that "folly," he said.
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May 22, 2024, 07:06 PM - 2 min read
Legal discourse surrounding rave parties in India leaves room for speculation.
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