CJI Gavai On Why No Women Judges Were Appointed To SC During His Tenure

Outgoing Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, on his retirement day today, revealed that the lack of consensus within the Supreme Court collegium was the reason why he could not recommend the name

of woman as Supreme Court judge to the government."We discussed several names in the collegium regarding recommending women judges to Supreme Court ..we can go by majority only ..but collegium could not reach a consensus on the names", CJI Gavai said during an interaction with journalists covering the Supreme Court beat. CJI Gavai retires today after a 6 month tenure at the helm of judiciary."I have a regret that I could not get a woman member to the Supreme Court …but in so far as High Courts are concerned we had recommended 16 women judges ..among them are women lawyers of Supreme Court.So my collegium always believed in wide representative to women members", CJI Gavai had said recently at a farewell hosted by women lawyers of the Supreme Court at the Women’s Bar Room.At present Justice B V Nagarathna is the only woman judge serving in the Supreme Court of India.Justice Nagarathna is set to make history by becoming the first woman Chief Justice of India in September 2027. But her tenure lasts only 36 days.This acute gender imbalance has been a subject of concern and discussion in legal circles with woman SC lawyers and even Supreme Court Bar Association raising the issue several times.The farewell event at Women’s Bar Room was organized by Senior Advocate Ms. Mahalakshmi Pavani. CJI Gavai on Post Retirement Job"Wont accept any post retirement job from government. He said he wished to devote his time to the welfare of tribal communities in his native district Amravati in MaharashtraOn Pardoning Lawyer Who Hurled Shoe at Him"It was a spur of the moment thought process. Decision to forgive was taken on the spur of the moment. Not due application of mind” He took serious note of the AI clip which was in circulation showing that the shoe missed Justice Vinod Chandran who was sitting with him and hits him. “Technology has advantages and disadvantages”, he said.“Social media is a problem..what you don't say is shown in social media..what you don’t say is put in your mouth”On Collegium SystemCollegium system helps in maintaining independence of judiciary. He said that Collegium system continues to maintain institutional autonomy, while also considering inputs from the Intelligence Bureau and Union Law Ministry.On Justice Nagarathna’s DissentOn Justice BV Nagarathna's dissent in the Collegium regarding the proposal to elevate Justice Vipul Pancholi to the Supreme Court, he remarked that dissent within the Collegium was not unprecedented. “On the dissent of a judge in Collegium, it is not happening for the first time …If the dissent had any merit, four other judges would have agreed on it,” he said.Independence of JudiciaryThe perception that unless you decide against government you are not an independent judge is wrong and not a correct view. 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.Presidential Reference RulingCommenting on the recent opinion in the Presidential Reference, he said the Court could not add words to the Constitution and therefore could not have prescribed timelines for the President or Governors. However, he described the opinion as balanced, noting that it affirmed that Governors cannot indefinitely withhold Bills and that States may seek remedies in cases of glaring delay. There cant be a blanket timeline for Governors it can’t be straitjacket formula but case to case basis.