Who is BR Gavai? Meet the Next CJI Who Is All Set to Succeed Sanjeev Khanna

Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was born on November 24, 1960, in Amravati. He is currently a judge of the Supreme Court of India. Gavai also serves as the chancellor of the Maharashtra National Law University in Nagpur. A former judge of the Bombay High Court, BR Gavai is due to follow Sanjeev Khanna as the next Chief Justice of India.

Current CJI Sanjeev Khanna has recommended BR Gavai as his successor, sticking to the seniority convention. On May 14th, Justice Gavai will take the oath as the 52nd CJI. Sanjeev Khanna will retire on May 13th.

Sanjeev Khanna had taken over as CJI in November 2024, following the retirement of Justice DY Chandrachud at the age of 65.

Justice BR Gavai joined the Bar on March 16, 1985, and became a permanent judge of the high court on November 12, 2005. Since then, Justice Gavai has been a part of several Constitution benches of the Supreme Court that delivered landmark judgments.

BR Gavai was famously part of the five-judge bench that unanimously upheld the Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

He also played a key role in the bench that struck down the electoral bonds scheme used for political funding. Justice Gavai was part of a seven-judge bench that ruled by a 6:1 majority that states must mandatorily have sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes to provide targeted reservation for the most backward among them.