Justice BR Gavai will be the next Chief Justice, recommended by CJI Khanna who is retiring on May 13

Justice Bhushan R Gavai's name has been recommended to be the next Chief Justice of India. This has been sent to the Law Ministry by the Supreme Court. The outgoing Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna has sent the suggestion. The retirement date of Khanna is May 13. When retiring, by convention, the outgoing CJI recommends his seniormost judge as his replacement.

Justice Gavai is higher in position in the seniors' list, which is why his name has come to be recommended. It is to be pointed out that previously, the Ministry of Law had formally requested CJI Justice Khanna to appoint his successor. If his name is sanctioned, he would become the country's 52nd Chief Justice. Otherwise, he can take his oath as CJI on May 14. Nevertheless, Justice Gavai's tenure would be merely six months since he is retiring in November 2025. Justice Gavai became a judge in the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.

Justice Gavai was born on 24 November 1960 in Amravati, Maharashtra. Justice Gavai's father, late RS Gavai, was also a famous social worker and former Governor of Bihar and Kerala. Justice Gavai started his advocacy career in the year 2003 as an additional judge in the Bombay High Court. After this, he was appointed as a permanent judge in the year 2005. Justice Gavai served in the benches of Mumbai, Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Panaji for 15 years. If Justice Gavai's name is approved, he will be the second Chief Justice of the country belonging to the Scheduled Caste. Before him, Justice KG Balakrishnan had achieved this feat in the year 2010. Justice BR Gavai was a part of the decision given on demonetization in the year 2016. In which it was said that the government has the right to declare currency illegal. Apart from this, Justice Gavai was also a part of the order given against the bulldozer action and was also a part of the bench that gave the decision on electoral bonds.