Justice BR Gavai to be next Supreme Court CJI: His career, education and notable cases at glance

Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna (BR) Gavai is all set to replace Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the Supreme Court's Chief Justice of India on May 14. Justice Sanjiv Khanna will retire on May 13. President Droupadi Murmu will then administer the oath of office to Justice BR Gavai on May 14.

Justice Gavai's tenure as Chief Justice will span approximately six months, concluding with his retirement in November 2025.

Here's all you need to know about the CJI-designate Justice BR Gavai:

Justice BR Gavai's early life and education:

He was born on November 24, 1960 in Amravati, Maharashtra. He joined the Bar on March 16, 1985.

According to reports, Justice Gavai pursued his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (B.A.LL.B.) from Nagpur University.

He practiced law independently at Bombay High Court from 1987 to 1990. After 1990, he practiced mainly before Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court, as per his profile on the Suprem Court's website.

Justice BR Gavai's career

Gavai practised in Constitutional Law and Administrative Law. He was Standing Counsel for Municipal Corporation of Nagpur, Amravati Municipal Corporation and Amravati University.

He appeared regularly for various autonomous bodies and Corporations like SICOM, DCVL, etc., and various Municipal Councils in the Vidarbha region.

Gavai was also appointed as Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Nagpur Bench, from August 1992 to July 1993.

He was appointed as Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor for the Nagpur Bench on 17th January, 2000. He was elevated as Additional Judge of the High Court on November 14, 2003.

Gavai became a permanent Judge of the Bombay High Court on November 12, 2005.

He presided over benches having all types of assignments at the Principal Seat at Mumbai as well as Benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad and Panaji.

Justice BR Gavai's career at Supreme Court:

Justice BR Gavai was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on May 24, 2019. Due to retire on November 23, 2025.

In the last six years, Justice BR Gavai was a part of around 700 Benches dealing with matters pertaining to a variety of subjects including constitutional and administrative law, civil law, criminal law, commercial disputes, arbitration law, electricity law, education matters, environmental law, etc.

Has authored around 300 judgments including Constitution Bench Judgements on various issues upholding the rule of law and safeguarding the fundamental rights, human rights and legal rights of citizens.

Justice BR Gavai's top judgements

As a member of the five-judge Constitution Bench, BR Gavai played a significant role in the landmark judgment that validated the abrogation of Article 370, thereby revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and facilitating the reorganisation of the region.

Justice Gavai was also part of the bench in the high-profile contempt proceedings against senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, a case that addressed vital issues concerning free speech and judicial accountability.

Besides these, Justice Gavai wrote the majority opinion which upheld the Union’s 2016 Demonetisation Scheme.