Before assuming office as Meghalaya Court Chief Justice, Justice Revati Mohite Dere said judges must uphold faith while interpreting law. Her transfer was cleared January 1, and she took oath as the court’s second woman Chief Justice.
MEGHALAYA: Just days before taking oath as the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court, Justice Revati Mohite Dere during her farewell speech stated,
“The work of a judge is not just to interpret law, but also to uphold people’s faith in the judiciary,”
The Central government confirmed her transfer on January 1, following a recommendation from the Supreme Court Collegium made on December 18, 2023. She was sworn in at the Meghalaya High Court becoming only the second woman to lead the court.
Justice Dere, who was among the senior-most women judges in the country’s second largest High Court, transitioned to govern a smaller institution with only four sanctioned judges. She may be considered for elevation to the Supreme Court in the near future due to her seniority and the apex court’s commitment to enhancing gender representation.
In her farewell address at the Bombay High Court, she expressed that being a judge was a “calling” for her, rather than merely a profession.
Born in Pune, Justice Dere studied at Symbiosis Law College and achieved a second-place ranking at the University of Pune. She was part of the inaugural batch of the five-year law program at her college and later pursued an LL.M. at the University of Cambridge on a Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholarship.
Upon returning to India, she practiced law at the Bombay High Court, initially under her father, Senior Advocate Vijayrao A. Mohite, and later with former Advocate General and judge Raja S. Bhosale. Additionally, she served as a public prosecutor and government pleader for Maharashtra. She credits her upbringing, particularly her father’s equal treatment of her and her sisters, for her accomplishments.
During her farewell , Advocate General of Maharashtra Milind Sathe recalled a moment from 1985 when he saw a young girl engaging in a discussion about the five-year law course at a conference in Pune.
He remarked,
“That young, bright girl is today poised to be Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court. True to the meaning of her name, she has shown empathy, compassion, and kindness in abundance to everyone and in her decision-making process,”
Justice Dere was appointed as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court on June 21, 2013, and became a permanent judge in March 2016.
Justice Dere consistently interpreted the Constitution through the lens of equality and dignity, challenging patriarchal norms in public and marital spheres. As a junior judge in 2016, she played a crucial role in the landmark ruling allowing women unrestricted access to Mumbai’s Haji Ali Dargah, declaring the gender based ban a violation of Articles 14, 15, and 25.
Her unwavering stance on sexual violence is evident in her participation in the 2019 case that upheld the death penalty for repeat offenders in the Shakti Mills gang rape case. In 2021, while affirming a man’s conviction for fatally attacking his wife, she rejected claims of provocation, asserting that a wife is not a possession but an equal partner. She advocated for reforming Section 498A of the IPC to allow non-compoundable offenses to become compoundable with court approval.
Justice Dere treated encounter cases and custodial violence as failures of the rule of law, demanding transparency. In the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case, she questioned the CBI’s selective prosecution.
Her rulings have also safeguarded the rights of queer couples and children.
Senior Advocate Nitin Thakker during her farewell reference noted,
“She taught us that one does not need to be loud to be heard, and one does not need to be harsh to be tough,”
Justice Dere also defended press freedom. Her bench quashed a 2018 order in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case, labeling the press as “the most powerful watchdog of society” and affirming the principle of open criminal trials, subject to narrow exceptions.
Her tenure has not been without controversy. In April 2025, lawyer Nilesh Ojha held a press conference making serious allegations of corruption, bias, and political connections against Justice Dere. This led a five-judge bench of the Bombay High Court to take suo motu cognizance and order the removal of what it deemed a “scandalous” video from online platforms.
A second criminal contempt case was initiated in September 2025 after Ojha made further scandalous remarks while defending himself. The Court concluded that terms such as “dishonesty” and “conspiracy” exceeded fair criticism and could undermine public trust in the judiciary.
As Justice Dere, now the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court, begins her new role, many will be observing how her blend of rigor and empathy influences the direction of a smaller High Court’s docket in the months ahead.
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