New Delhi, Nov. 13 -- Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai on Wednesday said that the path to a gender-equal India lies not in confrontation but in collaboration where men, particularly those in positions of power, recognise that sharing power with women is not an act of loss but liberation of society. Delivering the Justice Sunanda Bhandare Memorial Lecture here, CJI Gavai said that achieving the path to gender justice requires dismantling the invisible social, cultural, and economic barriers that limit women's freedom and participation. True equality, he said, demands that the benefits of law, education, and opportunity extend to each woman. "Achieving gender justice is not the responsibility of women alone. It requires an active reimagining of power by men, especially those who occupy positions of authority in our institutions, workplaces, and political systems," CJI said. Sharing the vision of justice Bhandare, a former Delhi high court judge, who was a vociferous proponent of gender justice and social equality, he said, "The path to a gender-equal India lies not in confrontation but in collaboration, where men and women together rebuild the moral and institutional architecture of equality envisioned by our Constitution." Real progress, he said, will come only when men recognise that "sharing power is not an act of loss, but of liberation of society" as he narrated the evolution of law in achieving gender justice through the past 75 years since the adoption of the Constitution. This year was the 30th memorial lecture on the topic "Justice for All: Building a Gender Equal and Inclusive India". CJI Gavai, who shared the long association of his father RS Gavai with Murli Bhandare, former governor and justice Bhandare's husband, cited several judgments given by the Supreme Court over the past years which has effectively shaped these rights for allowing meaningful participation of women in all spheres of life. However, he said that progress in gender justice has never been the achievement of courts alone, as he recognised the collective voice of citizens which has ensured regressive judgments to be reversed....