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Addressing the program “India in 75 Years and the Living Indian Constitution”, Gavai said that when it comes to reservation, the children of an IAS officer cannot be compared with the children of a poor agricultural labourer.
Gavai said, “I went even further and took the view that the concept of the creamy layer, as found in the judgment in Indra Sawhney (vs. Union of India and others), which applies to the Other Backward Classes, should also be applied to the Scheduled Castes, although my judgment on that issue has been widely criticized.”
Justice Gavai further said, “But I still believe that judges are not generally expected to justify their decisions, and there is still about a week left for me (to retire).”
The CJI said that in the last few years, equality or women empowerment has been gaining momentum in the country and the discrimination faced by them has been strongly criticized.
He said that before ending his journey as Chief Justice in a few days, the last function he attended was in Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh, while the first function after becoming CJI was in his native Amaravati in Maharashtra.
Justice Gavai said in 2024 that states should develop a policy to identify the creamy layer even among the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) and deny them the benefits of reservation.