New Delhi: On Wednesday, President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, who has become the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI). He took the oath in Hindi. Justice Gavai, appointed as a Supreme Court judge on May 24, 2019, will serve for over six months, concluding his term on November 23.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by notable figures, including 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 former President Ram Nath Kovind were also in attendance.
Justice Gavai succeeds former CJI Sanjiv Khanna and is the son of the late RS Gavai, a former Governor of Bihar, Kerala, and Sikkim, as well as a prominent leader of the Republican Party of India (Gavai faction). He is the second Chief Justice from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, following Justice KG Balakrishnan, who served from 2007 to 2010.
Justice Gavai’s legal career began in 1985, initially working with the late Raja S Bhonsale, a former Advocate General and High Court Judge, before establishing his independent practice at the Bombay High Court in 1987. CJI Gavai has participated in several Constitution benches at the Supreme Court, contributing to landmark rulings, including a five-judge bench that unanimously upheld the Centre’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 in December 2023.
