Twenty judges of the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, travelled together by road from Delhi to Ranthambore on Friday for a two-day retreat.
The trip, informally dubbed "Delhi to Ranthambore" in a light-hearted reference to the 1972 Bollywood film Bombay to Goa, marked the first time in recent memory that such a large group of Supreme Court judges embarked on an excursion together.
At 2:40 pm, two specially arranged buses departed from the Supreme Court's Additional Building in New Delhi under police escort. On board were 20 judges, accompanied by their spouses. Among them were CJI Gavai and Justice Surya Kant, who is in line to become the next Chief Justice.
The remaining 14 judges of the top court did not join the family retreat. Sources said the gathering was designed as a relaxed, picnic-style outing initiated by CJI Gavai himself.
The buses were hired for the occasion, with Delhi Police and Gurugram Police providing security until the Haryana border. From there, Haryana Police escorted the convoy until Rajasthan Police took charge.
At 5:30 pm, the buses stopped midway at Pinhan in Rajasthan, where the judges and their families had tea. By 9 pm, they had reached Ranthambore, a national park and popular retreat destination roughly 360 kilometres from Delhi.
Judges travelling on the buses described the trip as reminiscent of their school and college days, likening the experience to "old friends going on a picnic."
According to sources, the expenses for the journey are being borne by the judges themselves or through their Leave Travel Concession (LTC) allowances.
Last year, 25 judges travelled to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh with their families. On that occasion, however, the judges also held discussions with potential candidates for judicial appointments.
This year's Ranthambore trip, by contrast, has been described as a purely recreational exercise.
