Courting reform: Newly appointed CJI B R Gavai must address case pendency

Justice Gavai has been part of several seminal apex court judgments - among them, upholding the revocation of Jammu & Kashmir's special status, the one on demonetisation

The swearing in of Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai as the 52nd chief justice of the Supreme Court offers a reminder of how equal access to opportunity can smooth India’s bumpy road to social inclusion. Justice Gavai is, however, only the second Dalit to head the Supreme Court — after Justice K G Balakrishnan — and one of only seven Supreme Court judges from the community since the apex court was established in 1950, an indicator perhaps of the distance India has to travel towards genuine social equality. Justice Gavai’s early career partly reflects these hurdles. Typically, under Article 124(3) of