Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday recommended Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, to be appointed as his successor. Justice Gavai is expected to take oath as the 52nd Chief Justice of India on May 14.
Justice Khanna is scheduled to retire on May 13. He had assumed the office of Chief Justice in November 2024, following the retirement of Justice DY Chandrachud upon reaching the age of 65.
The oath of office for the incoming Chief Justice will be administered by President Droupadi Murmu.
Born on November 24,1960, in Amravati, Justice Gavai enrolled with the Bar on March 16, 1985. He was appointed as a permanent judge of the High Court on November 12, 2005. Since then, he has served on several Constitution Benches of the Supreme Court and has been involved in a number of significant rulings.
Justice Gavai was a part of the five-judge bench that unanimously upheld the Centre&rsquo;s decision in 2019 to abrogate Article 370, which had conferred special status upon the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. He also played a prominent role in the five-judge bench that struck down the electoral bonds scheme, which had been used for political funding.
Additionally, Justice Gavai was among the judges on the bench that upheld the Centre&rsquo;s 2016 demonetization move&mdash;concerning ₹1,000 and ₹500 currency notes&mdash;by a 4:1 majority. In another key decision, he was on a seven-judge Constitution Bench that ruled, by a 6:1 majority, that state governments have the constitutional power to create sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes for the purpose of providing focused reservation benefits to the most disadvantaged groups among them.
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He will become 52nd Chief Justice of India on May 14, succeeding CJI Sanjiv Khanna upon his retirement

Justice BR Gavai Named Next Chief Justice of India

He will become 52nd Chief Justice of India on May 14, succeeding CJI Sanjiv Khanna upon his retirement

April 16, 2025 | 16:02 IST