Justice BR Gavai to Become Next CJI, Oath on May 14

Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna, has formally proposed Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai as his successor and submitted his name to the Union Law Ministry for approval.

Justice Gavai will take the oath as the 52nd CJI on May 14. CJI Khanna is due to retire on May 13.

He will become the second Dalit to assume the role of Chief Justice of India, following Justice KG Balakrishnan, who assumed the position in 2007.

As a senior judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Gavai has played a key role in several significant rulings, including the judgment that upheld the Modi government’s 2016 demonetisation move and the decision that struck down the electoral bonds scheme as unconstitutional.

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A look at Justice Gavai’s legal career

Justice Gavai started his legal journey in 1985, initially working under the guidance of the late Raja S Bhonsale, a former Advocate General and High Court Judge. In 1987, he began his independent practice at the Bombay High Court.

He specialized in Constitutional and Administrative Law, representing 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.

In 1992, the government appointed him as the Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor at the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court. He later rose to the position of Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor for the same bench in 2000.

In 2003, the President appointed Justice Gavai as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court.

He also served at the High Court’s principal seat in Mumbai, as well as at its benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Panaji. On May 24, 2019, the President elevated him to the Supreme Court.

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