On Wednesday, President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai as the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI).
Justice Gavai, appointed as a Supreme Court judge on May 24, 2019, will serve for more than six months and will leave office on November 23.
His swearing-in ceremony was graced by notable dignitaries, such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, and various other union cabinet ministers.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and ex-President of India Ram Nath Kovind were in attendance as well.
Justice Gavai, succeeding former CJI Sanjiv Khanna, is the son of the late RS Gavai, a former Governor of Bihar, Kerala, and Sikkim, as well as a longstanding leader of the Republican Party of India (Gavai faction).
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Justice Gavai is the second Chief Justice of India from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, succeeding Justice KG Balakrishnan, who held the position from 2007 to 2010.
Justice BR Gavai’s Bio
Gavai started his legal profession in 1985. He initially worked with the late Raja S Bhonsale, who was a former Advocate General and High Court Judge, before beginning his independent practice at the Bombay High Court in 1987.
CJI Gavai has participated in multiple Constitution benches at the supreme court, which rendered landmark decisions.
He served on a five-judge Constitution bench that, in December 2023, unanimously affirmed the Centre’s choice to revoke the provisions of Article 370, which granted special status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir.
