FIT IN CONSULTANTS

Justice BR Gavai of the Supreme Court said on Monday that he could become a judge of the top court only due to Dr BR Ambedkar.

Speaking at the Ambedkar Memorial Lecture along with Justice AS Oka, Justice Govai said, “The credit of the origin of the Indian Constitution goes to Dr BR Ambedkar. It is only because of Dr BR Ambedkar that a person like me, who studied in a semi-slum area at a municipal school could reach this position,” Justice Gavai said, adding that Article 32 has been used as a tool for transformative justice.

Notably, Justice Gavai will become the Chief Justice of India in May 2025 and would be the second person from Dalit community to hold the post.

Expressing concerns over the mounting arrears of cases in the Supreme Court, Justice Oka observed that there should be a debate on whether a test should be laid down on invoking Article 32.

“Some may argue that the Supreme Court should entertain all Article 32 pleas without sending them to the High Courts. But we are not living in an ideal world and if there was no pendency of cases, then the scene would have been different. There are 80,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court,” he said.

“We are not only a constitutional court, but also an appellate court. When we have mounting arrears, we need to fix our priorities,” Justice Oka added.

“There are prisoners who have been denied permanent remission, there are appeals by accused who have been incarcerated for long. But there are businessmen also, who come with a big team of lawyers consuming time of court and arguing that article 19 (1) (g) is violated. Then how do we bring equality between the common convict and the businessman?” he questioned.

Calling for a debate on enforcement of Article 32, he said, “Should there be some test laid down, which says that only if these tests are adhered to, then Article 32 can be invoked. Thus, this is a debatable topic as to whether such a test can be laid down and restrict its own power.”

According to Article 32 of the Constitution, citizens can move to the Supreme Court if denied their fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution.