Vice President CP Radhakrishnan released The Voice of Justice: Justice Gavai Speaks, a compilation of speeches and reflections of former Chief Justice of India Justice BR Gavai, at Uprashtrapati Bhavan. The volume, edited by Prof. S Sivakumar, brings together the constitutional philosophy and judicial vision of one of India’s most respected jurists. Published by Thomson Reuters in association with the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA), the book offers readers a rare window into the thinking that shaped some of the Supreme Court’s most significant judgments.
Who Is Justice BR Gavai?
Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai served as the 52nd Chief Justice of India from May to November 2025. Born on 24 November 1960 in Amravati, Maharashtra, he rose from humble beginnings in a municipal school to the highest judicial office in the country. He is only the second person from the Dalit community to become CJI, after Justice KG Balakrishnan.
His father, Ramkrishna Suryabhan Gavai, was a prominent leader of the Republican Party of India and served as Governor of Bihar, Sikkim, and Kerala. Justice Gavai has often credited Dr BR Ambedkar’s constitutional vision and his father’s social activism as the twin forces that shaped his understanding of justice.
Justice Gavai was elevated to the Supreme Court on 24 May 2019 and was part of several landmark Constitution Bench judgments. These include the unanimous verdict upholding the abrogation of Article 370, the striking down of the Electoral Bonds Scheme, the validation of sub-classification within Scheduled Castes for reservation, and the upholding of demonetisation. He authored around 300 judgments during his six years at the Supreme Court.
Known for his Swadesi interpretation approach, Justice Gavai insisted on using Indian constitutional text and domestic precedents over foreign judgments. He was also the Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and served as the Chancellor of Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur.
What the Book Contains
The Voice of Justice: Justice Gavai Speaks is more than a collection of speeches. It is an intellectual record of constitutionalism in motion. The volume is organised thematically and covers a broad range of subjects, including transformative constitutionalism, the role of the judiciary in modern India, fundamental rights, Directive Principles of State Policy, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), access to justice, judicial ethics, social inclusion, and international judicial cooperation.
The book captures Justice Gavai’s repeated emphasis on access to justice, free legal aid for the poor, and the need to view fundamental rights and social justice as complementary constitutional values rather than competing ones. It also reflects on emerging issues such as technology, legal education, arbitration, climate concerns, and public confidence in courts.
The foreword has been written by the current Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, who described the work as essential reading for understanding the human face of the law.
The Launch Event
The book was released at a function held at Uprashtrapati Bhavan, attended by a distinguished gathering of the judiciary and legal fraternity. Vice President CP Radhakrishnan was the chief guest.
Speaking at the launch, the Vice President described the book as an important constitutional and institutional document that reflects judicial thought shaped by experience, constitutional discipline, and public responsibility. He noted that institutions derive their strength not merely from constitutional authority but also from public trust and constitutional culture. He also urged senior lawyers to take up pro bono cases for the poorest citizens to ensure that justice is truly accessible.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the Constitution is not self-executing and its promises become real only when institutions remember the human being behind every dispute. He described Justice Gavai’s speeches as an insistence that the law retain its human face even while modernising, and that courts remain accessible even while managing complexity.
Justice Gavai himself remarked that while judgments necessarily decide disputes before courts, speeches allow a judge to participate in a wider constitutional conversation. He said he had initially been reluctant to publish the compilation but hoped it would encourage students, lawyers, judges, and scholars to engage more deeply with constitutional ideas.
Justice Vikram Nath of the Supreme Court described the volume as timely and long overdue, noting that speeches often tell readers more about the judge, the values he holds, and the society he hopes to build.
About the Publisher and Editor
The book has been edited by Prof. (Dr.) S. Sivakumar, Senior Professor at the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, and President of the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA). He is a former full-time Member of the 21st Law Commission of India and only the second Indian to hold the position of CLEA President, following the late Prof. NR Madhava Menon. Prof. Sivakumar was also appointed as a member of the Central Authority of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) in 2025.
The Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) was founded in 1971 during the Fourth Commonwealth Law Conference in New Delhi, on the initiative of Indian lawyer Dr Laxmi Singhvi. It is a Commonwealth-wide body dedicated to fostering high standards of legal education and research across member nations. CLEA has regional chapters in Asia, Southern Africa, West Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe, and its headquarters are located at the Commonwealth Secretariat in Marlborough House, London.
Thomson Reuters, the publisher of the volume, is a global content and technology company that provides legal research services through platforms such as Westlaw and Practical Law. It is one of the world’s leading providers of legal intelligence and professional publishing.
Significance of the Publication
The book holds particular value because speeches reveal dimensions of a judge’s thinking that judgments, by their disciplined legal nature, cannot always express. Justice Gavai’s speeches, delivered at various national and international forums including Oxford University, Columbia University, and Harvard University, reflect his consistent commitment to Ambedkarite constitutional morality, social justice, and institutional integrity.
The launch also comes at a time when questions around judicial transparency, access to justice, and public trust in institutions are at the centre of legal discourse in India. The book serves as a resource for law students, legal practitioners, judges, and scholars seeking to understand the constitutional values that guide judicial decision-making.
Key Takeaways
- Vice President CP Radhakrishnan released The Voice of Justice: Justice Gavai Speaks at Uprashtrapati Bhavan, compiled by Prof. S Sivakumar.
- Justice BR Gavai served as the 52nd Chief Justice of India (May to November 2025) and is only the second Dalit CJI after Justice KG Balakrishnan.
- The book covers themes such as transformative constitutionalism, fundamental rights, access to justice, social inclusion, and judicial ethics.
- The Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA), co-publisher of the volume, was founded in 1971 during the Fourth Commonwealth Law Conference in New Delhi.
- CJI Surya Kant wrote the foreword and described the book as an intellectual record of constitutionalism in motion.
- Justice Gavai was part of landmark Constitution Bench judgments including the Article 370 abrogation, the Electoral Bonds case, and the sub-classification of SCs for reservation.
