The Supreme Court issued notice to the Gujarat government on Friday 21st July 2023 while hearing Rahul Gandhi's petition related to the criminal defamation case. One of the 2 judge bench of the Supreme Court during the hearing Justice BR Gavai, proposed to recuse himself from the matter. The other Judge on the Bench was Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra.

What did Justice Gavai say?

As soon as the hearing of the case started, Justice Gawai said that there is some problem from my side. My father was associated with Congress for 40 years. Although he was not a member of the Congress, he reached the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha with the help of the Congress. My brother is still active in politics and is associated with Congress, this is the background. In such a situation, you people decide whether I should hear this matter or not? After the consent of both parties, Justice Gavai heard the matter. Senior Advocates Mahesh Jethmalani and Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for the parties consented to the hearing.

Who was Justice BR Gavai's father?

Ramakrishna Suryabhan Gavai, the father of Justice BR Gawai, was born on 30 October 1929 in Amravati, Maharashtra and was famous as "Dadasaheb". He was the founder of the Republican Party of India (RPI) among his supporters. He was Governor of Bihar, Sikkim and Kerala when it was a Congress government between 2006 to 2011.

RS Gavai was close to Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and was also the chairman of Nagpur's Deekshabhoomi Smarak Samiti. Between the years 1964 to 1998, he was active in the politics of Maharashtra and had a lot of interference. He contested the Lok Sabha elections from Amravati in the year 1998 on a Republican Party of India ticket and won.

He had then approved a CBI inquiry against Pinarayi Vijayan, bypassing the state cabinet's decision. There was a lot of uproar in the state on this matter. Later, when the matter reached the court, the Congress-led central government supported the Governor's decision.

Who is Justice Gavai's brother?

His name is Dr. Rajendra Gavai. He had joined hands with Ramdas Athawale in the year 2009, but later the relationship between the two leaders deteriorated and they parted ways. Later, before the Lok Sabha elections, the faction led by Dr. Rajendra Gavai allied with the Congress while the faction led by Ramdas Athawale joined the BJP alliance.

Justice BR Gavai was appointed as the judge of the Supreme Court on 24 May 2019. He is the third senior-most judge and member of the collegium at present. He is also in line to become the Chief Justice of India and will be the second Dalit Chief Justice after Justice KG Balakrishnan. Justice Balakrishnan was the Chief Justice between 2007 and 2010.