CJI Gavai Reshuffles SC Bench After Controversial Orders

• CJI B.R. Gavai has reshuffled a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice J.B. Pardiwala.
• The decision follows two controversial orders on stray dogs and a High Court judge.
• The Chief Justice intervened in both cases, leading to a roster change.

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 19th Aug: Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai has made a major change to the Supreme Court bench led by Justice J.B. Pardiwala. The decision is believed to be a direct result of two recent controversial orders passed by the bench, which sparked intense debate in both legal circles and among the general public.

The first controversial case was related to the Allahabad High Court. A bench of Justice Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan had passed an order preventing an Allahabad High Court judge from hearing criminal cases and directing that the judge be seated with a senior judge. The order caused a huge controversy, forcing CJI Gavai to intervene. The Chief Justice directed the bench to reconsider its decision, which led to the original order being rescinded.

The second case involved stray dogs in Delhi-NCR. On August 11, the same bench ordered that all stray dogs be removed from the streets and sent to shelters. This ruling was met with strong opposition from animal lovers and social organizations nationwide.

Following the controversies, CJI Gavai acted swiftly. The stray dog case was removed from Justice Pardiwala’s bench and reassigned to a new three-judge bench. The Supreme Court’s roster has now been changed, and Justice Pardiwala has been assigned a new bench with Justice K.V. Viswanathan. Justice R. Mahadevan has also been moved and is now on a new bench with Justice B.V. Nagarathna.