In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, has appointed Shri Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, Judge of the Supreme Court, as the Chief Justice of India with effect from 14th May, 2025.
Born on November 24, 1960, in Amravati, he joined the Bar on March 16, 1985. He began his career working with the late Barrister Shri Raja S. Bhonsale, a former Advocate General and Judge of the High Court, until 1987. From 1987 to 1990, he practised independently at the Bombay High Court. After 1990, he primarily practised before the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court.
His areas of expertise included Constitutional Law and Administrative Law. He served as Standing Counsel for the Municipal Corporation of Nagpur, Amravati Municipal Corporation, and Amravati University. He regularly represented various autonomous bodies and corporations, such as SICOM and DCVL, as well as numerous Municipal Councils in the Vidarbha region.
He worked as an Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Nagpur Bench, from August 1992 to July 1993. On January 17, 2000, he was appointed as Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor for the Nagpur Bench.
He was elevated to the position of Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on November 14, 2003, and became a permanent Judge on November 12, 2005. He presided over benches dealing with a wide variety of assignments at the Principal Seat in Mumbai, as well as at Benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Panaji. He was elevated to the Supreme Court of India on May 24, 2019.
In the past six years, he has been part of approximately 700 benches addressing matters across numerous subjects, including constitutional and administrative law, civil law, criminal law, commercial disputes, arbitration law, electricity law, educational matters, and environmental law.
He has authored around 300 judgments, including significant Constitutional Bench judgments, which uphold the rule of law and protect the fundamental, human, and legal rights of citizens.
He has participated in various international conferences, including those held in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), New York (U.S.A.), Cardiff (U.K.), and Nairobi (Kenya). He has also delivered lectures on various constitutional and environmental issues at several universities and organisations, including Columbia University and Harvard University. He is scheduled to retire on November 23, 2025.
