Severely criticized by my community for creamy layer judgment: CJI Gavai in farewell address

The Supreme Court Bar Association today held a farewell function in honour of Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, Chief Justice of India, who demits office on November 23, 2025. The function was attended by CJI designate Justice Surya Kant, other judges of the Supreme Court, Attorney General R Venkataramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and other members of the Bar.

CJI Gavai addressed the gathering, which also included his wife. In his speech CJI again referred to his opinion from 2024 in the Davinder Singh verdict.

He said that he has been severely criticized by his community for his view that state must evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer even from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

"I made an example of can the son of a Chief Secretary studying in Delhi be made to compete with the son of an agriculturist... Article 14, it believes in equality, but equality doesn't mean equal treatment to all..therefore a special treatment to those lagging behind is what needs to be done..", CJI Gavai said.

Earlier this week too, CJI Gavai had reiterated his call for exclusion of creamy layer in reservations to Scheduled Castes. Speaking at a function "India and the Living Indian Constitution at 75 Years", CJI Gavai said children of an IAS officer cannot be equated with the offspring of a poor agricultural labourer when it comes to reservations.

"What is applicable to the Other Backward Classes, should also be made applicable to Scheduled Castes, though my judgment has been widely criticised on that issue," Gavai had said referring to his opinion from 2024 in the Davinder Singh verdict. CJI had added that the Indian Constitution is not "static", and Dr BR Ambedkar always considered that it has to be evolving, organic, and a state-of-the-art living document as Article 368 provides for the amendment of the Constitution.

In 2024, then Justice BR Gavai had observed that state must evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer even from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes so as exclude them from the benefit of affirmative action, Justice BR Gavai had said.

"In my view, only this and this alone can achieve the real equality as enshrined under the Constitution", the Supreme Court's judge had said in his separate judgment holding sub-classification of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on account of reservations is constitutionally permissible.

Justice Gavai had further clarified the criteria for exclusion of the creamy layer from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the purpose of affirmative action could be different from the criteria as applicable to the Other Backward Classes. The top court judge had observed that the people from these categories who after having availed the benefits of reservation and have reached the high echelons in life cannot be considered to be socially, economically and educationally backward so as to continue availing the benefit of affirmative action. They have already reached a stage where on their own accord they should walk out of the special provisions and give way to the deserving and needy, the judge had added.

Noting that disparities and social discrimination, which is highly prevalent in the rural areas, start diminishing when one travels to the urban and metropolitan areas, the judge had said, "I have no hesitation to hold that putting a child studying in St. Paul's High School and St. Stephen's College and a child studying in a small village in the backward and remote area of the country in the same bracket would obliviate the equality principle enshrined in the Constitution."