Outgoing CJI Gavai restored dignity of the bar: SCBA president Vikas Singh

New Delhi, Nov 21 (PTI) Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Vikas Singh on Friday said outgoing Chief Justice of India Justice B R Gavai restored the dignity of the bar and always believed that bar and bench were two sides of the same coin.

He was speaking at the farewell function of the CJI organised by the SCBA.

“When he (CJI Gavai) became the Chief Justice of India, he immediately restored the mentioning which was stopped earlier. He restored the letter circulation, which was a big problem at the bar.

“He actually truly restored the dignity of the bar, which is what we all want. Basically, as lawyers, we want only to be given a dignified hearing; we want to be treated properly. It is not that we want our matters to be decided in our favour. We want that one should be treated properly in the process of this justice delivery, which he ensured,” the SCBA president said.

He said CJI Gavai and CJI-designate Justice Surya Kant were both first-generation lawyers, and this fact would encourage budding lawyers who had no family members in the legal profession.

“This is important because a lot of people talk about nepotism in the profession and about elevation (as judges). If there had been nepotism, then this could never have happened,” Singh said.

The SCBA president recalled how CJI Gavai was instrumental in allowing the apex court’s auditorium to be used for holding events.

“I remember we were doing the function of Justice Indu Malhotra in the garden, and it started raining. And it was an unexpected rain, so we had only one umbrella. So that umbrella we had to ultimately put only in front of Justice Malhotra because she was the biggest VIP of that day. This was the problem that the bar was facing,” the SCBA president said.

He said even after becoming the CJI, Justice Gavai did not change his behaviour towards the bar members.

“He remained the same as CJI, equally accessible, equally concerned, and with an equal amount of acceptance that bar and bench are two equal parts, two sides of the same coin,” the SCBA president said.

Singh also applauded CJI Gavai’s various verdicts, saying they were remarkable for protecting the legal rights of the citizens and upholding the sanctity of law.

“In the bulldozer justice case, he said, just because somebody is in conflict with the law, his building should not be demolished. It is not justified. The demolition should happen with a proper show of notice.” “It should happen to people uniformly in that area, and you can't just pick up one house because this person is in conflict with the law, and demolish his house. So that is something which shows concern for the individual's rights,” the SCBA president said.

He said that outgoing CJI Gavai’s judgment on individual liberty brought back the legal principle that bail is the rule and jail is the exception. PTI MNR RHL