Justice BR Gavai Takes Oath as 52nd Chief Justice of India; Becomes First Buddhist CJI

Chief Justice of India: Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was sworn in by President Droupadi Murmu as the 52nd Chief Justice of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday (May 14, 2025).

Justice Gavai is the first Buddhist Chief Justice of India. He took his oath of office, pledging his commitment to uphold the Constitution and faithfully discharge duties, in Hindi.

CJI Gavai succeeds Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who demitted office on May 13, and will hold office till November 23, 2025. He is the 52nd Chief Justice of India.

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Born on November 24, 1960, at Amravati in Maharashtra, Justice Gavai was elevated as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court on November 14, 2003. He became a permanent judge of the high court on November 12, 2005

Justice Gavai became a Supreme Court judge on May 24, 2019, and has been a part of several Constitution benches that delivered landmark rulings.

Justice Gavai, who was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019, will have a tenure of over six months and will demit office on November 23.

"I pay my respects to Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar, who have been the guiding lights for our nation and our Constitution," Justice Gavai said after his swearing-in.

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The SC collegium in its recommendation elevating Justice Gavai to the Supreme Court had said, “His recommendation, in no way, is to be misconstrued to mean that three senior-most Judges from Bombay High Court (two of whom are serving as Chief Justices) are less suitable than Justice Gavai. On his appointment, the Supreme Court Bench will have a Judge belonging to the Scheduled Caste category after about a decade.”

In an informal interaction with journalists on Sunday, Justice Gavai said that the Constitution is supreme and all organs of state are supposed to work within its parameters. “All three wings of our democracy are supposed to act within the constitutional parameters,” he said.

His swearing-in ceremony was attended by prominent dignitaries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, defence Minister Rajnath Singh, law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, and several other union cabinet ministers.

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