Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai Nominated as 52nd Chief Justice of India, Oath Expected on May 14

As per the recent reports, the Supreme Court Judge, Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, has been nominated as the next Chief Justice of India (52nd) following the Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna.

The CJI Khanna himself suggested to the Union Law Ministry to replace his position and appoint Mr. Gavai as the next Chief Justice of India, new came on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. The oath of the next CJI is scheduled to be held on May 14, 2025, one day after Khanna’s retirement.

As per the records, Mr. Gavai will be the second person to become the Chief Justice of India from the Dalit caste. Before him, KG Balakrishnan was declared CJI in 2007 from the Dalit caste.

According to tradition, the Chief Justice of India sends a proposal to the Union Law Ministry, declaring the next successor. Earlier, the Ministry asked the Chief Justice to put forward a name for his successor.

Since 11 November 2024, Justice Khanna has been the 51st Chief Justice of India. He became the CJI after D Y Chandrachud, who retired on November 10, 2025. Now, Justice Gavai will be appointed as the next Chief Justice of India for about six months, and his retirement is set till November 2025.

Background of Justice BR Gavai: Career Key Highlights

Justice Gavai was born on November 24, 1960, in Amravati in Maharashtra. He got associated with a bar in 1985 and originally worked with advocate Raja Bhonsale, former Advocate General and Judge of the Maharashtra High Court. After a period, he worked independently in the Bombay High Court from 1987 to 1990.

Justice Gavai worked as a lawyer at the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, mainly handling constitutional and administrative cases. He served as the official lawyer for the Nagpur and Amravati Municipal Corporations and for Amravati University. He also regularly represented bodies like SICOM and DCVL, as well as various municipal councils across the Vidarbha region, according to his Supreme Court profile.

Justice Gavai was placed at the position of Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in August 1992, in the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. In 2000, he was appointed as the Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor at the Nagpur bench.

Permanent Judge and Landmark Judgments

Justice Gavai was appointed as the Additional Judge of the High Court in 2003. He was declared a permanent judge in 2005 and was elevated to a Supreme Court judge in 2019.

As a part of the Supreme Court, Justice Gavai has been part of several landmark judgments. They cover two major rulings: the court said the government’s 2016 demonetisation move was legal, and the court struck down the electoral bonds scheme as unconstitutional.