India, Nov. 22 -- Bengaluru Chief Justice of India BR Gavai said on Friday that he had been "severely criticised" within his "own community" for his 2024 judgment applying the creamy layer principle to Scheduled Castes.

Speaking at his farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the CJI defended his ruling and said that while judges are generally not expected to justify their decisions, he could speak freely now that he was demitting office.

He added that there existed a rationale behind the judgment for a son of a chief secretary, studying in a premier Delhi institution could not be expected to compete with the child of an agricultural labourer attending a rural government school.

"I have been severely cri...