Justice B.R Gavai Becomes 52nd Chief Justice of India

Justice B.R Gavai: As India’s 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice BR Gavai became the country’s first Buddhist to hold the position after taking the oath of office on Wednesday. President Droupadi Murmu swore in Justice Gavai. He took over the position after Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna retired.

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VIDEO | After being sworn in as 52nd Chief Justice of India, Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai pays tribute to BR Ambedkar at the Supreme Court premises. #JusticeBRGavai #ChiefJusticeofIndia pic.twitter.com/Abyu5fxvfe

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 14, 2025

After taking the pledge, he touched his mother’s feet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, former Chief Justices, and judges from the Supreme Court and High Courts attended the ceremony. Justice Khanna, who began his tenure as Chief Justice on November 11, 2024, announced his retirement on Tuesday as the 51st CJI. The authorities promoted him to the Indian Supreme Court on January 18, 2019.

Who is Justice B.R. Gavai?

1. Justice B R Gavai, who was born in Amravati on November 24, 1960, will be sworn in as India’s 52nd Chief Justice on May 14. He started practicing law on March 16, 1985, and remained with the late Bar. Raja S. Bhonsale, a former High Court judge and Advocate General, till 1987.

2. He opened a solo practice at the Bombay High Court between 1987 and 1990. He thereafter mostly practiced in the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench. His areas of competence were administrative law and constitutional law. He held the position of Standing Counsel for several organizations, including Amravati University, the Municipal Corporation of Nagpur, and Amravati Municipal Corporation.

3. He frequently represented several independent organizations and businesses in the Vidarbha area, such as SICOM, DCVL, and several Municipal Councils. From August 1992 until July 1993, he was the Additional Public Prosecutor and Assistant Government Pleader at the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court.

Also Read: Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna Retires: Names Successor

4. He was named the Nagpur Bench’s Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor on January 17, 2000. On November 14, 2003, he was promoted to Additional Judge of the High Court.

5.The Bombay High Court confirmed him as a permanent judge on November 12, 2005. Justice Gavai ruled over a wide range of cases at the Principal Bench in Mumbai and also served on benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Panaji. The authorities appointed him as a Supreme Court judge on May 24, 2019.