Justice BR Gavai takes oath as 52nd Chief Justice of India 

     

As of May 14, 2025, Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai serves as the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI). He was sworn in today, succeeding Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who retired on May 13, 2025 .

Justice Gavai's appointment is historic, as he is the first Buddhist to hold the position of CJI and only the second individual from the Scheduled Castes to do so, following Justice K.G. Balakrishnan. Born on November 24, 1960, in Amravati, Maharashtra, he began his judicial career as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court in 2003 and was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2019 .

His tenure as CJI is expected to continue until November 23, 2025 .

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai as the 52nd Chief Justice of India on May 14, 2025, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries. Justice Gavai's appointment was made under Article 124(2) of the Constitution, and the Ministry of Law and Justice had issued the official notification confirming his appointment. 

Justice BR Gavai sworn in as 52nd Chief Justice of India.

Chief justice of India 

The Chief Justice of India (CJI) stands as the highest-ranking judicial authority in the country, presiding over the Supreme Court of India. As the head of the judiciary, the CJI plays a pivotal role in upholding the Constitution, interpreting laws, and ensuring the administration of justice across the nation.

APPOINTMENT PROCESS 👉

The appointment of the Chief Justice of India is governed by Article 124(2) of the Indian Constitution. According to this provision, the President of India appoints the CJI after consulting with such judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts as deemed necessary. In practice, the outgoing CJI recommends the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court as their successor, a convention followed to maintain judicial independence and continuity. However, this tradition has seen exceptions; notably, in 1973, Justice A.N. Ray was appointed over three senior judges, and in 1977, Justice M.H. Beg was appointed superseding Justice H.R. Khanna.

The formal appointment is made by the President, who acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers, as mandated by Article 74 of the Constitution.

Tenure and Responsibilities 👉

A Chief Justice serves until reaching the age of 65, unless they resign or are removed through the constitutional process of impeachment. The CJI's responsibilities extend beyond presiding over court proceedings; they include allocating cases to benches, forming constitutional benches to address significant legal questions, and overseeing the administrative functions of the Supreme Court.

👉List of Chief Justice of India 

1.  H.J. Kania                              1950-1951

2.   M. Patanjali Shastri          1951-1954

3.  More Chand Mahajan           1954

4.  Bijan Kumar Mukherjea   1954-1956

5.  Sudhi Ranjan Das               1956-1959

6.  Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha 1959-1964

7.  P.B.Gajendragadkar           1964-1966

8.  Amal Kumar Sarkar               1966

9.  Koka Subba Rao                    1966-1967

10. Kailas Nath Wanchoo         1967-1968

11. Mohammad Hidayatullah   1968-1970

12. Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah.    1970-1971

13.  Sarv Mittra Sikri                    1971-1973

14.  Ajit Nath Ray                          1973-1977

15. Mirza Hamedullah Beg         1977-1978

16 Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud.                    1978-1985

17 Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati

       1985-1986

18. Raghunandan Swaroop Pathak

       1986-1989

19.  E. S. Venkataramiah              1989

20.  Sabyasachi Mukherjee        1989-1990

21.  Ranganath Misra                  1990-1991

22. Kamal Narain Singh               1991

23. Madhukar Hiralal Kania     1991-1992

24.  Lalit Mohan Sharma          1992-1993

25.  M. N. Venkatachaliah        1993-1994

26.  A. M. Ahmadi.                      1994-1997

27.    J. S. Verma.                    1997-1998

28.   M.M.Punchhi.                     1998

29. Adarsh Sein Anand.           1998-2001

30. Sam Piroj Bharucha.           2001-2002

31.   Bhupinder Nath Kirpal.      2002

32.  Gopal Ballav Pattanaik.       2002

33.   V. N. Khare.                           2002-2004

34.   S.Rajendra Babu.                2004

35.  Ramesh Chandra Lahoti.   2004-2005

36. Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal.  2005-2007

37.  K. G. Balakrishnan.               2007-2010

38.  S. H. Kapadia.                         2010-2012

39. Altamas Kabir.                        2012-2013

40.  P. Sathasivam.                        2013-2014

41 Rajendra Mal Lodha.              2014

42. H. L. Given.                              2014-2015

43.  T. S. Thakur.                           2015-2017

44. J. S. Khehar.                             2017

45 Dipak Misra.                              2017-2018

46. Ranjan Gogoi.                           2018-2019

47.  Sharad Arvind Bobde.           2019-2021

48.  N. V. Ramana.                          2021-2022

49. Uday Umesh Lalit.                   2022-2022

50. D. Y. Chandrachud.                 2022-2024

51. Sanjeev Khanna.                     2024-2025

52. BR Gavai                                   2025.......