“Judges Should Be in Love with Justice and Freedom, Not Money” — CJI B.R. Gavai’s Call for Judicial Humility at CAT Conference

Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, speaking at the 10th All-India Conference of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), urged judges to wield their authority with humility, responsibility, and a sense of higher purpose. He remarked that even a single instance of judicial overreach—such as a judge reprimanding and causing a lawyer to faint—can harm public trust in the justice system. He emphasized that judges and lawyers are like two wings of the “golden bird of justice”—neither superior nor inferior. CJI Gavai also stressed that judges must not be enamoured with money or prestige, but with justice, freedom, and humanity. He reiterated that citizens place deep trust in judicial institutions, and this demands fairness, transparency, and virtue from judicial officers both inside and outside courtrooms. Among his suggestions were better eligibility criteria for lower judicial appointments (e.g. requiring practice experience) and more training for judicial and quasi-judicial members