Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai will become the next Chief Justice of India on May 14, just a day after the current Chief Justice, Sanjiv Khanna, retires. Following the usual process, Chief Justice Khanna has recommended Justice Gavai's name to the government to take over the top post. The Law Ministry had asked for this recommendation earlier.

Justice Gavai will serve as the Chief Justice for about six months, as he is set to retire in November. He will be the second person from the Dalit community to become the Chief Justice of India, after Justice KG Balakrishnan, who held the position in 2007.

About BR Gavai

Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, who comes from Amravati in Maharashtra, began his legal career in 1985. He initially worked with barrister Raja Bhonsale, who was once the Advocate General and later a judge in the Maharashtra High Court.

From 1987 to 1990, Gavai started practising on his own at the Bombay High Court. Later, he mainly handled cases related to constitutional and administrative law at the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court. In 1992, he was appointed as Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor at the Nagpur Bench, and in 2000, he was promoted to Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor.

Justice Gavai became an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in 2003 and was made a permanent judge in 2005. In 2019, he was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court.

During his time in the Supreme Court, Justice Gavai has been part of important judgments. These include the ruling that upheld the government's 2016 demonetisation decision and the recent decision that declared the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional.

 

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