Justice BR Gavai appointed next Chief Justice of India

Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was on Tuesday appointed the next Chief Justice of India (CJI). His oath will take place on May 14, according to an official notification.

President Droupadi Murmu appointed Justice BR Gavai as the next Chief Justice of India, with effect from May 14, 2025.

The incumbent CJI, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, will retire on May 13.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, Judge of the Supreme Court of India as the Chief Justice of India with effect from 14th May, 2025 [sic],” Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal posted on microblogging platform X.

Upon taking over as the 52nd CJI, Justice BR Gavai would also be the second CJI belonging to the Scheduled Caste community after Justice KG Balakrishnan, who retired as the Chief Justice of India in 2010.

As per laid down protocol, Justice BR Gavai’s name was recommended by CJI Khanna on April 16 to the central government.

Justice Gavai, the senior-most Supreme Court judge after the incumbent CJI Khanna, will have a tenure of six months and he would demit office on December 23 on attaining the age of 65 years.

Who is Justice BR Gavai

Born on November 24, 1960, in Amravati, Maharashtra, Justice Gavai began his legal career in 1985. He initially worked with the late Raja S Bhonsale, former Advocate General and High Court Judge, before starting independent practice at the Bombay High Court in 1987.

Justice Gavai focused on Constitutional and Administrative Law. He represented several civic and educational bodies, including the Municipal Corporations of Nagpur and Amravati, Amravati University, and state-run corporations such as SICOM and DCVL. In August 1992, he was appointed Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor at the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court. He later became the Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor in 2000 for the same bench.

Justice Gavai was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on November 14, 2003, and became a permanent Judge in 2005. He served at the High Court’s principal seat in Mumbai and benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Panaji. He was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.