CJI Gavai's farewell address seen as reset after Vishnu remarks row

New Delhi: Outgoing Chief Justice of India B R Gavai used his farewell address on Thursday to underline his secular beliefs, weeks after a controversy over his remarks during a Lord Vishnu idol hearing triggered a backlash and even a shoe-hurling incident in court. 

Speaking at a farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA), Gavai said he practises Buddhism but believes in all religions. He said he did not have deep religious scholarship but had grown up with a secular outlook. 

“I practice Buddhism but I do not have much depth in any religious studies. I am truly secular and I believe in Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, everything,” he said.

Recalling his childhood, Gavai said he imbibed this outlook from his father, a follower of Dr B R Ambedkar, who would take the family to places of worship across faiths during political visits.

Gavai, who retires on November 23 and will have his last working day on Friday, said his rise from a municipal school background to the country’s top judicial post was possible because of Ambedkar and the Constitution. He said he had tried to live by the Constitution’s four cornerstones of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. 

The outgoing CJI also stressed institutional collegiality, saying the Supreme Court should not be a CJI-centric court but one that works through all judges and stakeholders. He said the Bar and bodies like SCAORA should be taken on board on issues affecting lawyers.

CJI-designate Justice Surya Kant, present at the event, said he has known Gavai for two decades and praised his commitment to justice for the common man. He described Gavai as warm and humane, and said his experience would continue to guide the institution even after retirement. 

SCAORA president Vipin Nair thanked Gavai for taking cognisance of concerns over investigating agencies summoning lawyers during probes.

Gavai’s remarks on faith and secularism come against the backdrop of the October row over his courtroom comment on a plea related to restoration of a Lord Vishnu idol at Khajuraho, followed by an advocate attempting to hurl a shoe at him in open court.