Chief Justice of India BR Gavai has described the “bulldozer judgment” as one of the decisions that brought him and Justice KV Viswanathan “immense satisfaction.”

Speaking at a Friday group discussion with lawyers at the Supreme Court, the CJI recalled, “When I presided over the bench, I got an opportunity to sit with Justice KV Viswanathan for a longer period, almost six months. One of the judgments, I think, which gave immense satisfaction to both of us, was the bulldozer judgment.”

The ruling, delivered last year, condemned the practice of arbitrary demolitions as it delivered a verdict on petitions challenging bulldozer action. The top court emphasised that such actions violate constitutional principles and legal rights, asserting that executive actions cannot override judicial processes.

A bench of Justices Gavai and Viswanathan had also issued a set of nationwide guidelines to regulate the demolition of illegal structures.

Explaining the essence of the ruling, CJI Gavai said, “What was at the heart of the judgment was the human problems—the problems faced by human beings. Families were being harassed only because they were part of the family where one of the members was either a criminal or an alleged criminal. Though largely the credit has been given to me, I must share that equal credit in authoring the judgment should go to Justice Viswanathan.”

Reflecting on his journey, the CJI recalled his early days of practice in Nagpur in the 1990s. “We formed a small group of 40-50 lawyers and every Friday evening we used to meet, pick a subject, research and speak on that subject. That’s how we started learning the law,” he said.

Calling law a profession of lifelong learning, he added, “The day you say you know everything, it’s the last day in the career of a lawyer or a judge.”

He also recalled his criminal law experience at the Bombay High Court, saying that almost 40% of his 17-year tenure there involved criminal appeals. “I must have decided not less than 1,000 criminal appeals,” he noted.

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