Justice BR Gavai to succeed Sanjiv Khanna as 52nd chief justice of India

Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai has been named the next Chief Justice of India (CJI) and will assume office on May 14, 2025, following the retirement of the current CJI, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, on May 13.

The appointment was confirmed through an official notification issued by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal shared the development on X, saying, “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.”

Justice Gavai, who is the most senior judge of the Supreme Court after Justice Khanna, was recommended for the position by the outgoing CJI on April 16.

Once he takes the oath, he will become the 52nd Chief Justice of India and only the second person from the Scheduled Caste community to hold the post, following Justice KG Balakrishnan, who retired in 2010.

Justice Gavai’s tenure will last for a little over six months, ending on Dec 23, when he turns 65—the retirement age for a Supreme Court judge.

Born on Nov 24, 1960, in Amravati, Maharashtra, Justice Gavai began practicing law in 1985.

He initially trained under Raja S Bhonsale, a former Advocate General and High Court judge, before starting independent practice in the Bombay High Court in 1987.

His area of focus included constitutional and administrative law.

Over the years, he represented multiple civic bodies and educational institutions, such as the municipal corporations of Nagpur and Amravati, Amravati University, and government-run enterprises 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 was later promoted to Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor in 2000. Justice Gavai was appointed an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on Nov 14, 2003, and became a permanent judge in 2005.

He worked at the High Court’s principal seat in Mumbai as well as benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Panaji. He was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.