Justice B.R. Gavai as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI)

On Tuesday, the government approved Supreme Court Judge Justice B.R. Gavai as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI). According to a notification from the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, President appointed Justice Gavai as CJI, effective from May 14, 2025.

The current CJI, Sanjiv Khanna, will retire on May 13, 2025, at the age of 65. He recommended Justice Gavai as his successor earlier this month.

Justice Gavai, set to become the 52nd CJI, will serve for just over six months until November 23, 2025. He joined the Supreme Court as a judge on May 29, 2019. Before that, he was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in November 2003 and became a permanent judge in November 2005.

Before becoming a judge, Justice Gavai practiced constitutional and administrative law. He worked as a lawyer for the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Amravati Municipal Corporation, and Amravati University. He also served as Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor at the Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench, from August 1992 to July 1993, and later as Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor in January 2000.

In the Supreme Court, Justice Gavai was part of a seven-judge bench examining whether reserved category groups could be further divided for better benefits. He suggested applying the “creamy layer” principle to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for affirmative action benefits.

In his opinion, Justice Gavai said that if the creamy layer test (which excludes wealthier members of a group) applies to Other Backward Classes to promote equality, it should also apply to SCs and STs. He questioned whether a child of an IAS/IPS officer from an SC/ST background should be treated the same as a disadvantaged SC/ST child studying in a village school.

Justice Gavai argued that treating children of well-off SC/ST parents the same as those of poor SC/ST parents doing manual work in villages goes against the Constitution’s goals.

Highlights:

Justice B.R. Gavai appointed as next Chief Justice of India (CJI), effective May 14, 2025.
Current CJI Sanjiv Khanna to retire on May 13, 2025; recommended Gavai as successor.
Gavai to be 52nd CJI, serving until November 23, 2025 (over 6 months).
Joined Supreme Court in May 2019; previously Bombay High Court judge (2003-2019).
Practiced constitutional and administrative law; served as counsel for Nagpur, Amravati corporations, and university.
Part of 7-judge Supreme Court bench on sub-classification of reserved categories.