NEW DELHI: President of India Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday appointed Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI), with effect from May 14, 2025. He will be the 52nd CJI. The incumbent CJI, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, is slated to retire on May 13.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal made this announcement by posting it on X (formerly known as Twitter).
"In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President 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," Meghwal posted on X.
When Justice Gavai takes charge as the 52nd CJI on May 14, he will also be the second CJI belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community after Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, who was elevated to the country's top judicial post in 2007 and retired as CJI in 2010.
Justice Gavai will retire on November 23, 2025.
Justice Gavai has authored around 300 judgments—including Constitution Bench judgments—on various issues upholding the rule of law and equality, and safeguarding the fundamental rights, human rights, and legal rights of citizens.
On April 16, the incumbent CJI, Justice Khanna, wrote a letter to the Centre, nominating the second senior-most judge, Justice Gavai, as his successor.
Justice Gavai will serve as the 52nd CJI for a period of about six months, as he is due to retire on November 23, 2025, after attaining 65 years of age.
Justice Gavai was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.
Born on November 24, 1960, at Amravati, Justice Gavai joined the Bar in 1985. He practiced independently at the Bombay High Court from 1987 to 1990 and focused on Constitutional Law and Administrative Law. He was the Standing Counsel for the Municipal Corporation of Nagpur, Amravati Municipal Corporation, and Amravati University.
Justice Gavai was elevated as an Additional Judge of the High Court on November 14, 2003. He became a permanent Judge of the Bombay High Court on November 12, 2005.
Justice Gavai worked as Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Nagpur Bench, from August 1992 to July 1993. He was appointed as Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor for the Nagpur Bench on January 17, 2000.
In the last six years, he has been a part of around 700 benches dealing with matters pertaining to a variety of subjects, including constitutional and administrative law, civil law, criminal law, commercial disputes, arbitration law, electricity law, education matters, environmental law, etc.
Justice Gavai has attended various international conferences in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), New York (U.S.A.), Cardiff (U.K.), and Nairobi (Kenya).
He has also delivered lectures on many issues, including constitutional and environmental issues, at various universities and organizations, including Columbia University and Harvard University.