Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai took oath as the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI) this morning, succeeding Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who retired yesterday. The swearing-in ceremony was held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath.
The event was attended by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers, sitting and former Chief Justices of India, as well as judges from the Supreme Court and High Courts.
Justice Gavai, 64, is the first Buddhist and only the second Dalit to be appointed Chief Justice of India, after Justice KG Balakrishnan. He will serve a tenure of six months and nine days, retiring on November 23, 2025.
In an informal media interaction on Sunday, Justice Gavai called his elevation “an opportunity to strive for social and political justice.” He pledged to increase the representation of women and marginalised communities in the higher judiciary.
His top priority will be tackling the Supreme Court’s case backlog. “I’ve already begun working on categorisation of cases,” he said. “We will also prioritise filling judicial vacancies — there’s a direct correlation between vacancies and pendency.”
He added that the Supreme Court Collegium under his leadership will give special focus to judicial appointments.
Justice Gavai issued a stern warning against attacks on the judiciary’s dignity. When asked about BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s controversial remark alleging that former CJI Sanjiv Khanna would be “responsible for civil war” in India over the Waqf Act hearing, Justice Gavai responded firmly:
“There will be no compromise if someone tries to hurt the dignity of the court or judges.”
Earlier, Justice Khanna had denounced Dubey’s comments as “hate speech against the judiciary”, but refrained from initiating contempt proceedings, stating that the court is “not as fragile as flowers” to be shaken by such absurd remarks.
