New Delhi: The Centre has cleared the appointment of Supreme Court Judge Justice B.R. Gavai as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI), effective from May 14, 2025. A notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice stated, "In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, Judge of the Supreme Court, to be the Chief Justice of India with effect from 14th May, 2025."
Justice Gavai's appointment follows the impending retirement of the current CJI, Sanjiv Khanna, on May 13, upon reaching the age of 65. Justice Khanna had recommended Gavai's name for the role earlier this month.
Justice Gavai, who will be the 52nd CJI, will serve for more than six months and retire on November 23, 2025. He was appointed as a Supreme Court Judge on May 29, 2019. Before his elevation to the apex court, Justice Gavai served as an Additional Judge at the Bombay High Court in November 2003 and later became a permanent Judge in November 2005.
Before joining the judiciary, Gavai practised in constitutional and administrative law, acting as Standing Counsel for the Municipal Corporation of Nagpur, Amravati Municipal Corporation, and Amravati University. He was appointed Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in the Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench, in August 1992, and served until July 1993. He also served as Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor for the Nagpur Bench starting January 17, 2000.
In the Supreme Court, Justice Gavai was part of the 7-judge Constitution Bench that examined the issue of whether sub-classification among reserved category groups could be permissible under the Constitution to provide more beneficial treatment. Justice Gavai advocated for applying the "creamy layer" principle to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for availing benefits of affirmative action.
Justice Gavai’s opinion in the case questioned why the "creamy layer" test, which had been applied to Other Backward Classes (OBCs), should not also be extended to SCs and STs. He highlighted the inequality in reserving benefits for children of affluent SC/ST families in contrast to those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. He noted, "Can a child of IAS/IPS or Civil Service officers be equated with a child of a disadvantaged member belonging to Scheduled Castes, studying in a Gram Panchayat/Zilla Parishad school in a village?"
He argued that grouping children from both socio-economic extremes under the same category would undermine the Constitution’s mandate for equality.
With IANS inputs