"One Day You Will Be Chief Justice, But...": What Justice BR Gavai's Father Had Said

Supreme Court's Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai will take oath as the next Chief Justice of India later today. He steps into the shoes of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who retired on Tuesday. 

Very few people know that the Chief Justice designate wanted to become an architect. But he became a lawyer to fulfil his father's wish, said sources close to him.

Justice Gavai's father Ramakrishna Suryabhan Gavai was a well-known Ambedkarite leader and founder of the Republican Party of India. His followers and admirers fondly called him Dadasaheb.

Sources said RS Gavai wanted to become a lawyer and took admission in law school. But he could not continue after the second year due to his work in the social sector.

Justice Gavai wanted to become an architect. But his father told him to fulfil his dream of becoming a lawyer. He took a law degree from Nagpur University and started practicing on March 16, 1985.

Later, Bombay High Court's Chief Justice CK Thakkar sought his consent to recommend his name for appointment as a High Court judge.

He was not interested. But he consulted his father, who told him to accept the offer.

"You will contribute more to the society. One day you will become the Chief Justice of India. But I won't be there to see that day," his father had apparently told him.

Justice Gavai's father died in 2015 - long before he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court.

Justice Gavai had started his education at the municipal primary school in Amravati and later shifted to the Chikitsa Samuh Madhyamik Shala in Mumbai when his father became the Deputy Chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council. 

His brother and sister were students at a convent school and his mother, Kamaltai, felt Justice Bhushan, studying in a Marathi medium school, would lag behind in English. 

She was the one who insisted on enrolling him at Colaba's Holy Name High School.

After starting his career as a lawyer, Justice Gavai practiced independently at the Bombay High Court. After 1990, he practised in Nagpur.

Senior lawyer and MP Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi said Justice Gavai is "one of the most pragmatic and result-oriented judges I have seen".

"Very pleasant court ambiance, very firm grip on proceedings, great sense of humour, avoids 'Operation successful patient died' paradigms as far as possible and knows his law thoroughly... I wish he had a longer tenure," he added. 

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, "Justice Gavai is humility personified. Brilliant but humble. Holding the high constitutional office but grounded... He is intellectually independent and impartial to the core... He has an immense contribution in our jurisprudence in form of landmark judgments delivered in all branches of law".

"He is unpretentious and unassuming despite being one of the finest judges the country had so far. His legal acumen is without any pompous display. He has been carrying forward the true legacy of Dr Ambedkar... The nation is proud to have him as a judge and as the next Chief Justice of India," he added.