• Source:JND
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LJustice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai is set to take over as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI), with his oath-taking ceremony scheduled for May 14, 2025. The current Chief Justice, Sanjiv Khanna, has formally recommended Justice Gavai’s name to the Union Law Ministry, as he is due to retire on May 13.

Justice Gavai will become the 52nd CJI and will serve for a term of nearly six months, with his retirement slated for November 2025.

Significantly, Justice Gavai will be the second Dalit to hold the country’s top judicial post, following Justice KG Balakrishnan, who served as CJI in 2007.

Justice Gavai began his journey in the legal profession in 1985, initially working under the late Raja S Bhonsale, a former Advocate General and High Court judge. By 1987, he started practising independently at the Bombay High Court, focusing on Constitutional and Administrative law.

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Throughout his career, he represented several important institutions, including the Municipal Corporations of Nagpur and Amravati, Amravati University, and state agencies like SICOM and DCVL.

In 1992, he was appointed Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor at the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court. He rose to the position of Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor in 2000.

Justice Gavai was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in 2003. Over the years, he served at the High Court's principal seat in Mumbai, as well as its benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Panaji.

Justice Gavai specialised in Constitutional and Administrative Law. He provided legal representation to various civic and educational institutions, including the Municipal Corporations of Nagpur and Amravati, Amravati University, as well as state-owned entities like SICOM and DCVL.

His elevation to the Supreme Court came on May 24, 2019. During his tenure, Justice Gavai has been part of several significant rulings, including the judgment upholding the Modi government’s 2016 demonetisation and another declaring the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional.