NEW DELHI: Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, 64, the first Buddhist CJI and second Dalit head of the judiciary after K G Balakrishnan, was sworn in as the 52nd Chief Justice of India by President Droupadi Murmu at a brief ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan's Ganatantra Mandap.
B R Gavai paid floral tributes at the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar on reaching the Supreme Court after his swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
He succeeds Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who demitted office on Tuesday on attaining the age of 65 years.
Justice Gavai, who was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019, will have a tenure of over six months and would demit office on November 23.
Justice Gavai took the oath of affirmation in Hindi.
While interacting with a group of journalists on Monday, he remarked, “It is, however, a coincidence that I am taking oath a day after Buddha Purnima.”
Justice Gavai will also be the second CJI from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, after Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, who was elevated to the post in 2007 and retired in 2010.
Justice Gavai has authored around 300 judgments — including Constitution Bench decisions — on a wide range of issues, upholding the rule of law and equality and safeguarding the fundamental, human, and legal rights of citizens.
On April 16, the incumbent CJI, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, wrote a letter to the Centre nominating Justice Gavai, the second senior-most judge, as his successor.
Justice Gavai was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.
Born on November 24, 1960, in Amravati, he joined the Bar in 1985. He practised independently at the Bombay High Court from 1987 to 1990, focusing on constitutional and administrative law. He also served as Standing Counsel for the Municipal Corporation of Nagpur, Amravati Municipal Corporation, and Amravati University.
He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on November 14, 2003, and became a permanent judge on November 12, 2005.
Justice Gavai served as Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor at the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench from August 1992 to July 1993. He was later appointed as Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor for the Nagpur Bench on January 17, 2000.
In the past six years, he has been part of around 700 benches dealing with a wide range of subjects, including constitutional and administrative law, civil and criminal law, commercial disputes, arbitration, electricity law, education matters, and environmental law.
Justice Gavai has attended various international conferences in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), New York (USA), Cardiff (UK), and Nairobi (Kenya). He has also delivered lectures on several topics, including constitutional and environmental issues, at various universities and institutions, including Columbia University and Harvard University.
