Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday recommended Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai as the next CJI. 

As per the Memorandum of Procedure(MoP), the Centre asks the outgoing CJI to name the successor, just before a month of retirement. Thus, according to the practice of the CJI naming the senior-most judge as his successor, CJI Khanna wrote to the Central government and recommended the name of Justice Gavai. 

CJI Sanjiv Khanna’s Tenure

CJI Khanna was sworn in as the 51st CJI on November 11, 2024, and he has recommended to the Union Law Ministry Justice Gavai as his successor.

As per IANS, CJI Khanna will demit office on May 13, after a 6-month-long tenure in the highest judicial office of India. The retirement age of the judges of the top court is 65 years.

Justice BR Gavai’s Profile 

Justice Gavai was born on November 24 in 1960, at Amravati. He joined the bar on March 16, 1985, and was the standing counsel for the Municipal Corporation of Nagpur, Amravati Municipal Corporation, and Amravati University.

According to PTI, he was the assistant government pleader and additional public prosecutor in the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench from August 1992 to July 1993. Justice Gavai was appointed as a government pleader and public prosecutor for the Nagpur bench on January 17, 2000.

Later, he was elevated as an additional judge of the Bombay HC on November 14, 2003. He became a permanent judge of the High Court on November 12, 2005.

As of now, Justice Gavai is the second senior-most Supreme Court judge after the CJI Khanna and is set to become the 52nd CJI on May 14. He was elevated as a judge of the apex court on May 24, 2019. 

As per PTI, Justice Gavai would have a tenure of over six months as the CJI as he is due for retirement on November 23, 2025.

Notable Benches Justice Gavai Has Served On

Justice Gavai has been a part of several Constitution benches in the top court, which were responsible for delivering noted verdicts. Some of the verdicts that he has been a part of are as follows: 

1. Abrogation of Article 370: Justice Gavai was a part of the five-judge Constitution bench that unanimously upheld the Centre’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 in December 2023. 

2. Demonetization: Justice Gavai was among the five-judge Constitution bench that approved the Centre’s 2016 decision to demonetise Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 denomination currency notes.

3. Demolition of Property: He headed the bench that laid down pan-India guidelines and said no property should be demolished without a prior show-cause notice. The bench also ruled that the affected party must be given 15 days to respond.

4. Annulment of Electoral Bonds: He was also a part of the five-judge Constitution bench that annulled the electoral bonds scheme for political funding.

5. Forest and Wildlife Protection: Justice Gavai is heading the bench that is hearing matters related to forests, wildlife, and the protection of trees.

(with agencies’ inputs)