Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai is all set to take over as the 52nd Chief Justice of India on Wednesday, May 14 following the retirement of Chief Justice of India Justice Sanjiv Khanna. He will be the second Dalit to occupy the top judicial post after Justice K G Balakrishnan who served as CJI from January 14, 2007 to May 12, 2010.

Justice Gavai’s elevation holds profound symbolic significance for many across India. Coming from a humble background in a semi-slum area of Amravati, Maharashtra, his life story is one of perseverance, integrity, and constitutional idealism. In his address on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14, 2025, Justice Gavai remarked, “It is solely due to Dr. B R Ambedkar’s efforts that someone like me, who studied in a municipal school in a semi-slum area, could attain this position.”

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His deep admiration for Dr. Ambedkar is evident not just in words but in the philosophy that guides his jurisprudence. He has described the Indian Constitution as ‘Bhimsmriti’, underlining its role as a social revolution for the marginalised.

Born on November 24, 1960, Justice Gavai completed his graduation in social sciences and pursued law at Nagpur University. After enrolling at the Bar in 1985, he initially worked under the late Bar. Raja S Bhonsale, a former Advocate General of Maharashtra and Judge of the Bombay High Court.

From 1987 to 1990, he practiced independently before shifting primarily to the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, focusing on constitutional and administrative law.

He served as Standing Counsel for several public bodies including Nagpur and Amravati Municipal Corporations, and Amravati University, besides regularly appearing for public sector undertakings such as SICOM and DCVL.

Justice Gavai was appointed Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in 1992, and was elevated to Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor in January 2000.

He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on November 14, 2003, and became a Permanent Judge on November 12, 2005.

Justice Gavai was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019, and will retire on November 23, 2025. In his nearly six-year tenure at the top court, he has authored over 300 judgments, including on matters of constitutional law, civil rights, criminal law, and public accountability.

Justice Gavai’s legacy is marked by his bold stance against arbitrary state action, most notably in his judgment denouncing ‘bulldozer justice’. Sitting with Justice K V Viswanathan, he held that punitive demolitions—often executed in the wake of criminal allegations—are unconstitutional, describing them as an abuse of executive power and a violation of Article 21.

“The chilling sight of a bulldozer demolishing a building… reminds one of a lawless state of affairs, where ‘might was right’,” Justice Gavai wrote in the verdict that set out stringent safeguards against extra-legal demolitions.

He was part of the five-judge Constitution Bench that had on December 11, 2023 upheld the scrapping of Article 370, holding that it was a temporary provision and the complete extension of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir rendered the erstwhile State’s constitution “inoperative and redundant.”

He also authored the majority opinion that upheld the Union government’s 2016 Demonetisation Scheme, rejecting challenges to its legality.

Justice Gavai was also a member of the bench that heard the contempt proceedings against senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, a case that raised complex questions on free speech and judicial accountability.

From the lanes of a semi-slum in Amravati to the highest judicial office in the country, Justice Gavai’s journey encapsulates Dr. Ambedkar’s dream – that constitutional guarantees can empower the weakest to occupy the highest offices of power.

Justice Gavai’s term as the 52nd Chief Justice of India will run for approximately six months – 194 days to be precise – concluding on November 23, 2025. Of these, he will have just 93 working days, as 101 days will be lost to the Supreme Court’s summer vacation, Dussehra, Diwali and other holidays, including weekends.

Though brief, the expectations that he will leave a firm imprint on the court’s constitutional direction, especially in matters of social justice, executive accountability, expansion of access to justice, and the preservation of judicial independence are high.