Taking over the reins of the Indian judiciary on May 14, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai has begun his six-month tenure with a palpable sense of mission.

President Droupadi Murmu administers the oath of workplace to CJI Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai at Rashtrapati Bhavan on May 14. (ANI Photo)

Though transient and interspersed with holidays, together with the seven-week lengthy summer season recess (now outlined as “partial court working days”), Dussehra and Diwali, justice Gavai has apparently chosen to behave decisively by leveraging each accessible second to drive change in how the Supreme Court features administratively and institutionally.

Justice Gavai’s first fortnight in workplace has been marked by strategic efforts to strengthen the judiciary’s responsiveness, transparency and inside effectivity. Unlike a few of his predecessors who took time to ease into the function, justice Gavai has demonstrated a desire for immediacy, prioritising long-pending issues, enhancing institutional communication and initiating structural corrections. These selections replicate a agency understanding of the challenges dealing with the upper judiciary and an eagerness to bolster its public credibility. By tackling operational inertia and reviving collegium exercise virtually instantly, CJI Gavai has signalled that his time period is not going to be a caretaker stint, however a hands-on stewardship devoted to actual influence.

The first 15 days of justice Gavai’s tenure provide a compelling blueprint of his management fashion and priorities, greatest understood by the most important themes which have outlined his early selections.

Judicial appointments and restructuring:

In a robust opening act, CJI Gavai convened a collegium assembly on May 26 that swiftly resulted in an overhaul of key judicial positions throughout the nation. Demonstrating urgency and readability of imaginative and prescient, the collegium really helpful the elevation of three excessive court docket judges – Justices NV Anjaria, Vijay Bishnoi and AS Chandurkar –to the Supreme Court.

The Union authorities acted promptly, notifying these appointments on May 30, finishing the method in report time. With their swearing-in, the highest court docket has reached its full sanctioned energy of 34 judges.

Justice Gavai’s collegium additionally undertook a serious reshuffle in excessive court docket leaderships and decide postings. Five new chief justices had been proposed — Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva for Rajasthan, justice Vibhu Bakhru for Karnataka, justice Ashutosh Kumar for Gauhati, justice Vipul M Pancholi for Patna, and justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan for Jharkhand. Simultaneously, 4 chief justices had been rotated between Madras, Rajasthan, Tripura, Telangana, and Jharkhand excessive courts.

In addition, 22 judges had been transferred to numerous excessive courts based mostly on administrative want and private requests. The Delhi excessive court docket, notably, obtained a proposed infusion of six judges, reflecting a deal with enhancing transparency in judicial appointments and accountability. As beforehand reported, the Supreme Court now publicly discloses collegium selections, decide profiles, and even judges’ asset declarations on its web site — a part of a landmark transparency initiative launched underneath the management of the final CJI Sanjiv Khanna earlier in May. These suggestions are at the moment pending with the central authorities for his or her approval.

Furthermore, the collegium’s selections relating to the Delhi excessive court docket arrived at a time of heightened scrutiny following current controversies, together with the case involving unaccounted money discovered on the residence of a sitting excessive court docket decide, justice Yashwant Varma. In accordance with the Supreme Court’s in-house process for dealing with complaints of judicial misconduct, the court docket on May 8 confirmed that an inquiry report, together with justice Varma’s response, had been forwarded by the then CJI, justice Sanjiv Khanna, to the President and Prime Minister. Justice Khanna had additionally really helpful initiation of elimination proceedings after a three-judge inquiry committee discovered advantage within the allegations regarding restoration of money from the decide’s house.

The collegium’s efforts, consultants word, uphold the spirit of institutional equity whereas sustaining the credibility of the judiciary amidst rising public scrutiny.

Administrative reforms:

Justice Gavai has coupled his structural reforms with agency administrative resolve, significantly in addressing long-standing issues round judicial functioning throughout trip durations. In a departure from previous follow, the Supreme Court underneath his stewardship has rebranded the summer season recess as “partial court working days”. For the primary time, the highest 5 judges, together with the CJI himself, will sit on benches throughout the summer season recess — from May 26 to July 13.

This symbolic but impactful change has injected new vitality into the functioning of the court docket throughout holidays, which had been typically criticised for being underutilised regardless of pendency. A notification issued earlier detailed weekly bench allocations and mandated registry operations from 10am to 5pm, Monday by Friday.

On May 16, when a lawyer requested adjournment of a matter post-vacation, CJI Gavai remarked: “The first five judges are sitting through the vacation and continuing to work, yet we are blamed for the backlog. In reality, it is the lawyers who are unwilling to work during the vacations.”

The first 5 judges, together with justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, JK Maheshwari and BV Nagarathna, headed the Supreme Court benches between May 26 and 30. By presiding over trip benches himself together with the 4 different most senior judges, justice Gavai has despatched a transparent sign that judicial work doesn’t cease throughout recess. His stewardship of pressing issues has ensured that crucial petitions proceed to be heard, sustaining the credibility of the highest court docket even throughout what was historically thought-about downtime.

In a transfer reflecting a return to custom, CJI Gavai additionally restored the Supreme Court’s authentic emblem and ordered the elimination of glass partitions put in within the court docket’s corridors . Critics argued that such obstacles eroded the court docket’s spirit of open entry and inclusivity, making the establishment appear extra opaque and fewer participatory. By ordering their elimination, CJI Gavai, folks accustomed to the event stated, signalled a return to the values of transparency and approachability, reinforcing the judiciary’s dedication to being a people-centric establishment. Restoring the unique emblem of the court docket — which was modified in September 2024 — additional underscores his reverence for constitutional continuity and the heritage of the Supreme Court.

Judicial selections:

Alongside these measures, Justice Gavai has already presided over a number of vital rulings within the second half of May after he took over the helm:

Regularisation of court docket managers — On May 16, the Supreme Court directed all states to border service guidelines for court docket managers and take steps to regularise their appointments. The judgment, delivered by CJI Gavai, emphasised their crucial function in easing the executive burden on judges.

Uniform pension for retired judges — In a landmark verdict on May 19, a bench led by CJI Gavai dominated that further judges of excessive courts should be given pensionary advantages on par with everlasting judges, ending years of discrimination and uncertainty.

Minimum expertise requirement for civil judges — On May 20, justice Gavai’s bench upheld a rule mandating three years of authorized follow for candidates to the submit of civil decide junior division, underscoring the significance of sensible expertise in judicial roles.

Protection of Zudpi forests in Maharashtra — On May 22, a bench headed by CJI Gavai restrained large-scale deforestation in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha area by reclassifying sure forest tracts as protected, whereas permitting small cultivators to retain restricted land, balancing environmental conservation with livelihood.

These rulings counsel that the highest court docket stays deeply engaged with questions of judicial reform, fairness and environmental justice underneath justice Gavai’s watch.

This administrative stance builds on earlier transparency reforms initiated by his predecessor, justice Sanjiv Khanna, together with publication of collegium resolutions, decide profiles and asset disclosures. Justice Gavai’s early tenure reveals an intent not solely to proceed these reforms however to deepen their institutional relevance.

The continuation of benches by the summer season, led by the senior most justices, additionally marks a break from the previous, the place trip benches had been often manned by junior judges.

Moreover, the choices to swiftly notify appointments and transfers , and to provoke dialogue on long-pending issues corresponding to gender illustration on the bench (with discussions on elevating girls judges prone to resume post-retirement of justice Bela Trivedi on June 9), replicate an agenda anchored in fairness and institutional effectiveness.

As he navigates the challenges of a time period bookended by holidays, justice Gavai’s early efficiency underscores that tenure size needn’t decide influence — imaginative and prescient and execution do.