Collegium has always strived for merit-based elevation of judges: CJI
Gavai was addressing a felicitation function organised by the Advocates Association of Bombay high court Bench at Aurangabad. "The Constitution is based on the four pillars of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. I have tried working in accordance with these words mentioned in our Preamble. If all the members of the judiciary keep their commitment to the fundamentals and basic values of the Constitution, no justice or judge will find it difficult to work," he said.
Gavai said judges should not remain aloof from the society. "If a judge stays connected to the society and understands its problems, it helps in delivering appropriate justice. Judges should never be isolated. If meeting two lawyers can influence a judge's neutrality, the person is not eligible to serve as judge," he said.
The CJI said delivering justice was neither a service nor a job like working from 10am to 5pm. "It is a service to the nation and to the society.
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It's like walking on a tightrope and remaining committed to constitutional values makes it easier for judges to serve," he said, adding, "I feel happy to state here that ever since becoming a part of the Collegium, we have always strived to achieve merit-based elevation of judges, be it to the SC or the HCs.
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"While recommending names for elevation, we have never looked after the candidate's caste, creed or sect but only relied on the candidate's merit.
Whether or not s/he is suitable for the job, whether the candidate has good integrity, whether s/he has a thorough study and knowledge of law, only these things are looked into while deciding elevation," Gavai said.
On the expectations from him as the CJI, Gavai said, "I always consider that I am only first among the equals. SC should work as a Supreme Court and not the court of the Chief Justice of India. It should be the Supreme Court of all the judges.
I feel happy that whatever decisions we have taken during the period of (my predecessor) Justice Sanjiv Khanna or during my period, they were not the decisions of the Chief Justice of India but the decisions of all the judges of the Supreme Court of India, taken unanimously.
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The CJI said fate played an important role in an individual's progress. "I always believe the people with much more capability than me could not become HC or SC judges for some reason or the other.
There may be justices more competent than me in SC, but they won't be able to become CJI, again for varied reasons. Hence, I believe fate plays an important role," he said.
Gavai recalled his association with Aurangabad (now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar). "I have an emotional connection and a connection of love with Aurangabad, which has played a key role in my formative days as a legal professional. He recalled how lawyers from Aurangabad came to his rescue in 2008 when he met with an accident near Aurangabad while returning to Nagpur from Pune and also how a large number of lawyers from Aurangabad came to meet him in 2015 in Amravati when his father passed away.
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Among those present on the dais were SC judges Justice Surya Kant, Justice Dipankar Datta, Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice A S Chandurkar; Bombay HC justices Ravindra Ghuge, Nitin Sambre and V V Kankanwandi; Attorney General of India Anil Singh; state advocate Amarjit Singh Girashe; Bombay HC registrar general S S Adkar; Vimalnath Tiwari; law and judiciary department joint secretary S S Pallod; Vilas Gaikwad; divisional commissioner Jitendra Papalkar; district collector Dilip Swami; special inspector general of police (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar range) Virendra Mishra and city police commissioner Pravin Pawar.
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