The Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna has written to the Central government, formally recommending Justice B.R. Gavai – the senior most judge after him – to succeed him as next Chief Justice of India when he demits office on May 13, 2025.

In a communication to the Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Chief Justice Khanna has stated that Justice Gavai would be his successor when he leaves office on the completion of his term on May 13, 2025.

Advertisement

Born on November 24, 1960, at Amravati, Maharashtra, Justice Gavai, as Chief Justice of India, will have a tenure of little over six months–six months and ten days to be precise-as he would demit office on November 23, 2025.

Justice Gavai was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.

Before his elevation as judge of the top court on May 24, 2019, Justice Gavai was the judge if the Bombay High Court.

Justice Gavai was made an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on November 14, 2003, and became a permanent Judge of the Bombay High Court on November 12, 2005. He presided over the benches having all categories of cases both at the principal seat at Mumbai as well as benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad and Panaji.

As a lawyer, Justice Gavai joined the bar on March 16, 1985 and started working with the late Bar. Raja S. Bhonsale, former Advocate General and Judge of the High Court, till 1987.

Thereafter, he practiced independently at the Bombay High Court from 1987 to 1990. After 1990, Justice Gavai practised mainly before the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court. His areas of specialisation were constitutional law and administrative Law.

He was the Standing Counsel for Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Amravati Municipal Corporation, and the Amravati University. Appeared regularly for various autonomous bodies and corporations like SICOM, DCVL, etc., and various Municipal Councils in the Vidarbha region.

Justice Gavai was appointed as Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in the Bombay High Court, and Nagpur bench, from August 1992 to July 1993. He was appointed as government pleader and public prosecutor for the Nagpur bench on January 17, 2000.