Justice BR Gavai — the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court — was on Wednesday sworn-in as the 52nd Chief Justice of India. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Gavai in Hindi at a brief ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan at 10 am.
Justice Gavai is only the second individual from the Dalit community to become the CJI, the first being Justice KG Balakrishnan – the 37th CJI between January 14, 2007 and May 12, 2010. Justice Gavai is the first Buddhist CJI to occupy the highest judicial office in the country.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union ministers, outgoing CJI Khanna, sitting and former judges of the Supreme Court and various other dignitaries from the fields of law and politics.
After taking oath, CJI Gavai was seen touching the feet of his mother Kamaltai Gavai. Elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019, Justice Gavai will have an over-six-month tenure as the CJI. He is due to retire on November 23, 2025. Justice Gavai became a Supreme Court judge on May 24, 2019.
CJI Gavai succeeds Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who demitted office on May 13, and will hold office till November 23, 2025. Born on November 24, 1960, at Amravati in Maharashtra, Justice Gavai was elevated as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court on November 14, 2003. He became a permanent judge of the high court on November 12, 2005.
He has been a part of several Constitution benches that delivered landmark rulings. He was also on the five-judge Constitution Bench which quashed the electoral bonds scheme for political funding in February 2024. He was a part of the Constitution bench which upheld the Centre’s 2016 decision to demonetise Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination currency notes.
In an informal interaction with journalists on Sunday, Justice Gavai said that the Constitution is supreme and all organs of state are supposed to work within its parameters. Justice Gavai has also made it clear that he will not take any post-retirement assignments.
When asked if he will join politics like his father, Justice Gavai said, “No political ambitions. I have decided not to take any post retirement assignments or post. Any other assignment is also below CJI post, Governor is also below CJI post.”
Justice Gavai is the son of RS Gavai, a noted politician, who was the Governor of Bihar and Kerala. He belongs to a family deeply engaged in promoting the ideals of BR Ambedkar. His father was a prominent Ambedkarite and a former Member of Parliament.
