India’s 52nd Chief Justice and first Buddhist Judge Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna Gawai has played an important role in shaping the judicial landscape, written about 300 decisions, including constitutional issues, freedom and probably most importantly against the executive’s “bulldozer justice”.
Justice Gawai, KG Balakrishnan, is the second Dalit leading the Indian judiciary, on Wednesday, President Draupadi Murmu administered the oath for a six -month tenure to end on 23 November 2025.
Justice Gawai, who rises from a simple background to the highest judicial post of the country, is from a village in Amravati district of Maharashtra. He touched his mother’s feet after taking oath of office in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Born on November 24, 1960 in Amravati, Justice Gawai is the son of a professional politician RS Gawai, who started the Republican Party of India (Gawai).
On May 24, 2019, Justice Gawai, who was promoted as a judge of the Supreme Court, was part of the Constitution Bench, who gave several important decisions, including Article 370, Election Bond and Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes, including demonetisation of notes.
A bench headed by Justice Gawai had stayed the Allahabad High Court’s remarks stating that catching a woman’s breasts and pulling the pulse of her pajamas would not be considered to be a rape attempt, and said that it reflects “insensitivity” and “inhuman approach” completely.
During his tenure as a judge of the apex court in the last six years, Justice Gawai was part of about 700 benches dealing with matters related to many subjects including constitutional and administrative law, civil and criminal law, commercial disputes, arbitration law and environment law. He wrote around 300 decisions, including the decisions of the Constitution Bench on various issues that maintain the rule of law and protect the original, human and legal rights of citizens.
Justice Gawai, as the Chief Justice, will have to deal with issues such as vacancies in courts ranging from a large number of cases pending, including more than 81,000 cases in the Supreme Court. In the judicial side, he will deal with the controversial issue related to the challenge of the validity of the famous Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
A few days before taking oath as CJI, Justice Gawai told reporters at his residence that the Constitution is supreme. He also clarified that he would not take any charge after retirement.
He was part of the five-judge constitution bench, which unanimously retained the Center’s decision to cancel the provisions of Article 370 giving special status to the former Jammu and Kashmir state in December 2023. Another constitution bench of five judges, including Justice Gawai, canceled the election bond scheme for political funding.
He was also part of the five -judge constitution bench, which approved the Center’s decision to close the Center’s Rs 1,000 and 500 rupee notes with a majority of 4: 1.
Justice Gawai was part of the seven-judge constitution bench, which has assumed that the states have constitutional right to sub-classification within the Scheduled Castes, to give reservation for the upliftment of those castes which are socially and educationally more backward.
The Constitution Bench of seven judges, including Justice Gawai, ruled that the arbitration segment is implemented in the agreement without seal between the parties or inadequately sealing, as such a defect can be corrected and it does not make the contract illegal.
Justice Gawai was part of the five -judge constitution bench, which in January 2023 had decided that additional restrictions could not be imposed on the fundamental right to speech and freedom of expression of high public officials as there are already comprehensive grounds under the Constitution to prevent that right.
Determining the All India Guidelines on the demolition, he gave a historic verdict and said that no property should be demolished without a show cause notice and the affected should be given 15 days to respond to the affected.
He has also seen matters related to conservation of forests, wildlife, trees and has passed several orders to protect the environment. Justice Gawai has given lectures on various constitutional and environmental issues in various universities and organizations including Columbia University and Harvard University.
On 14 November 2003, he was promoted as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court. On 12 November 2005, he became a permanent judge of the High Court. He joined the bar on 16 March 1985 and was a permanent lawyer of Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Amravati Municipal Corporation and Amravati University.
He worked as an assistant government lawyer and additional public prosecutor in the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court from August 1992 to July 1993.
Justice Gawai was appointed as a government lawyer and government lawyer for the Nagpur bench on 17 January 2000. His predecessor Sanjeev Khanna recommended the name of Justice Gawai to the Center on 16 April as the next CJI. The Law Ministry issued a notification on April 29, announced the appointment of Justice Gawai as the 52nd CJI.
