President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai as the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI), effective May 14, 2025. He will succeed the current CJI, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, whose tenure concludes on May 13. Justice Gavai, who is the most senior judge after Justice Khanna, will serve as CJI for six months, retiring on November 23, 2025, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65.
This appointment is historically imporatnat as Justice Gavai becomes the second Chief Justice from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, following Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, who served as CJI from 2007 to 2010.
Justice Gavai’s selection comes after a recommendation by Justice Khanna, in line with the tradition of seniority in appointing the CJI.
Born in Amravati, Maharashtra, on November 24, 1960, Justice Gavai embarked on his legal career in 1985. He initially trained under renowned lawyer Raja S. Bhonsale and began independent practice in 1987. Justice Gavai’s early career saw him practicing at the Bombay High Court before shifting to the Nagpur Bench, where he specialized in Constitutional and Administrative Law. He also served as the standing counsel for key public institutions, including the Nagpur and Amravati Municipal Corporations and Amravati University.
Justice Gavai’s judicial career began in 2003 when he was appointed as an Additional Judge at the Bombay High Court. He became a Permanent Judge in 2005, and in 2019, he was elevated to the Supreme Court of India. His time at the Supreme Court has been marked by his involvement in several landmark Constitutional Benches, delivering pivotal rulings.
Justice Gavai has been part of several landmark cases in India’s legal history.
Notably, he was a member of the five-judge bench that unanimously upheld the abrogation of Article 370, which revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. He also contributed to the bench that struck down the controversial Electoral Bonds Scheme, and he was involved in the 2016 demonetization case, which upheld the government’s decision to withdraw high-value currency notes.
