Justice Gavai Takes Oath As The Next Chief Justice
Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai has been appointed the 52nd Chief Justice of India, set to assume office on 14 May 2025.
In a move very much by the book, Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai has been appointed the 52nd Chief Justice of India and is set to don the mantle on the 14th of May, following the retirement of the incumbent, Justice Sanjiv Khanna. The official announcement came via a notification from the Ministry of Law and Justice, bringing an air of finality to what had long been expected in legal circles.
In true Whitehall fashion, the ministry’s notification read, “In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai… to be the Chief Justice of India with effect from 14th May, 2025.”
Justice Gavai, who’s hardly a new face in the corridors of judicial power, was elevated to the Supreme Court in May 2019. With just over six months before he hangs up his wig — metaphorically speaking — on the 23rd of November, he still has ample time to leave a mark on the judicial landscape.
Born on 24 November 1960 in Amravati, Maharashtra, Justice Gavai’s legal journey has been anything but run-of-the-mill. He cut his teeth in the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, serving as standing counsel for various municipal bodies before being roped in as an additional judge in 2003. By 2005, he had taken on the role of a permanent judge — and the rest, as they say, is history.
The learned judge’s track record at the Supreme Court reads like a legal who’s who of landmark constitutional judgments. Most notably, he sat on the Constitution Bench that gave a resounding thumbs-up to the Centre’s 2019 move to scrap Article 370 — a decision that fundamentally altered Jammu & Kashmir’s status. He also lent his gavel to the benches that quashed the electoral bonds scheme and upheld the government’s 2016 demonetisation decision.
And if that weren’t enough, Justice Gavai recently played a key role in a ruling that allows states to create sub-categories within Scheduled Castes for targeted affirmative action — a decision bound to stir pots both political and social. Another notable judgment from a bench including Justice Gavai upheld the enforceability of arbitration clauses in unstamped contracts, adding a feather to his already well-plumed cap.
Not content to rest on constitutional laurels, Justice Gavai has also taken a firm hand in environmental matters. He currently heads the bench overseeing crucial cases related to forest conservation and wildlife protection — an area that demands both legal finesse and ecological sensitivity. In a related ruling, he also declared, in no uncertain terms, that no property should be razed to the ground without a prior showcause notice — a move that provides some much-needed guardrails in an increasingly bulldozer-happy climate.
In short, Justice Gavai isn’t one to beat about the bush. He’s shown, time and again, that he’s willing to take the bull by the horns — whether it’s political hot potatoes or legal grey areas.
As per protocol — or “the memorandum of procedure” as it’s officially called — the sitting CJI, Justice Khanna, put forward Gavai’s name on 16 April. The convention holds that the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court is considered for elevation, and Gavai, by virtue of his experience and standing, fit the bill like a glove.
His appointment marks a significant moment not just in legal terms but socially as well — Justice Gavai will be only the second Dalit Chief Justice of India, a development that carries weight in a country still grappling with issues of representation, equity and of course ethics as governance and ethics (the Pehalgaon incident a total failure of security) .
Whether he’ll set the cat among the pigeons or steady the ship remains to be seen. But for now, all eyes are on 14 May, when Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai formally takes over the reins of the highest court in the land.
One thing’s for certain — the bench will be anything but boring.
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