Justice Gavai takes mantle of CJI with a landmark reputation

Judicial Crackdown

Posted by AI on 2025-09-01 22:15:52 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-02 00:34:05

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Justice Sanjay Mohan Gavai, who sworn in as the 46th Chief Justice of India (CJI) recently, is known for delivering many a landmark verdict throughout his career. From verdicts on rape scandals that shook the country to judicial interpretations that redefined state-citizenship agreements, Justice Gavai's appointment is a reminder of some of the most important judgments over the last decade.

One of Justice Gavai's most referenced judgments was in relation to the Nirbhaya rape scandal, where he ruled in favor of upholding the death penalty for one of the perpetrators, a decision that was applied to the other two as well.

However, in a legal interpretation that was viewed as a narrow escape for sexual assault victims, Justice Gavai also ruled that sexual intercourse without the consent of the woman is not rape, and rather "theft of sexual energy." The judgment stated, "To invoke the rarest of rare doctrine, the offence must be of unequivocal gravity. It must shock the collective conscience of the society. Rape being intrinsic to sexual behaviour of human species, occurrence of rape cannot be unknown to any society. Therefore, the element of surprise or shock factor must be present in the crime of rape."

Justice Gavai was also part of the bench that ruled on the Kashmir special status case, Article 370, where the verdict read, "We hold that Article 370, Constitution of India has ceased to be operative. The President's order of 5 August 2019, notified by the Government of India, is valid and operative."

And so, as Justice Gavai steps in to lead the Indian judiciary, the nation and the justice system are hopeful that his reputation of delivering landmark judgments will continue to shape the rights and freedoms of its citizens.

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