DELHI: Justice B.R. Gavai has been recommended as the next Chief Justice of India by the current Chief Justice, Sanjiv Khanna. The recommendation was made to the Union Ministry of Law on Wednesday, 16 April. Justice Gavai is scheduled to take oath as the 52nd Chief Justice of India on 14 May 2025, following the retirement of CJI Sanjiv Khanna on 13 May.
Justice Gavai will become the second Chief Justice of India from a Scheduled Caste background, after Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, who previously held the post.
Justice Gavai is expected to serve as CJI for around six months, as he is set to retire in November this year. A native of Amravati in Maharashtra, he began his legal career in 1985, initially working under former Maharashtra Advocate General and High Court judge Barrister Raja Bhosale. He practised at the Bombay High Court from 1987 to 1990.
In 1992, Justice Gavai was appointed Assistant Pleader and Assistant Public Prosecutor for the Maharashtra government at the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the High Court in 2003. He joined the Supreme Court in 2019 and is now set to assume the role of Chief Justice of India.
Justice Gavai has previously raised questions regarding the use of bulldozers in state actions.
On Monday, 14 April, while speaking at the Supreme Court premises on the occasion of Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, Justice Gavai said the nation would always remain grateful to Ambedkar and his colleagues for drafting the Constitution. He remarked that India is strong, progressing, and among the fastest-growing countries in the world, crediting this to Ambedkar’s philosophy, vision, and foresight, which continue to bind and strengthen the nation.
