It is definitely most refreshing, most reassuring and most reinvigorating to see that finally on May 14, 2025, the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI) – Hon'ble Mr Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna (BR) Gavai was administered the oath of office and sworn in by President Hon'ble Ms Droupadi Murmu during the auspicious ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi following his formal appointment under Article 124(2) of the Constitution. He will be the first Buddhist and second Dalit after former CJI Mr KG Balakrishnan in 2007 to become CJI. He has an impeccable reputation and will have a tenure of over six months till November 23, 2025. The Law Ministry on April 29, 2025 had issued a notification that had announced his appointment as 52nd CJI.

It must be certainly disclosed here that he was born on November 24, 1960 at Amravati. His father – Mr Ramakrishna Suryabhan Gavai who was also known as 'Dadasaheb' was a former Governor of Bihar, Sikkim and Kerala between 2006 and 2011 and an esteemed Dalit leader who died in 2015 four years before his son became Supreme Court Judge. Not many know that he initially wanted to become an architect but switched over to law to fulfil his father's desire to his becoming a lawyer. His mother Kamaltai is a former school teacher.

He joined the Bar on March 16, 1985. He initially worked with the late Mr Raja S Bhonsale who was a former Advocate General of Maharashtra and High Court Judge until 1987. He learned a lot from him and persevered hard to deliver his best!

It was at the Frezarpura ghetto in Amravati district of Maharashtra that he spent his childhood times with his studies in a municipal Marathi-medium school till Class VII. After a B.Com degree, he pursued law from Amravati University and began his practice in 1985 at age of 25. After spending few years in Amravati and then Mumbai where he practiced independently from 1987 to 1990 in High Court, he later moved to Nagpur and then practiced in Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court.

He had represented government as Additional Prosecutor (for criminal cases) and then also later appeared as Government Pleader in civil suits. He did not rely or specialize only in one field like civil or criminal and earned experience in diverse fields of law. He was offered judgeship in 2001 but took two years and in 2003 was finally elevated as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on November 14, 2003 and on November 12, 2005 became a permanent Judge.

It would be in the fitness of things to disclose here that it was on May 25, 2019 after serving as Bombay High Court Judge for 16 years that he was ultimately elevated to the Supreme Court. He has delivered many landmark judgments even in Supreme Court and upheld the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and so also the striking down of the electoral bonds scheme as politicians were gaining too much of money from foreign countries. He has been a part of around 700 Benches and delivered around 300 judgments dealing with matters that pertained to different streams of law like constitutional and administrative law, civil law, commercial disputes, criminal law, arbitration law, environment law, education matters etc with many prominent judgments like putting a red line on the executive's bulldozer justice, granting bail to AAP leader Manish Sisodia and demonetization of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 currency notes.

For my esteemed readers exclusive indulgence, let me reveal here that Hon'ble Mr Justice Nitin W Sambre who is now the most senior Judge at the Nagpur High Court Bench was most candid in laying bare about the CJI that:
He understands what the difficulties of the common man are. Money was never his priority. Even when he was a lawyer, 50 to 60% of the work would be on pro bono basis. For buying house, he then sold his four wheeler and for a year, he would come to court on a two-wheeler. He is a self-made man.

He encouraged his juniors also. His choice for Assistant Government Pleaders – Hon'ble Ms Justice Bharati Dangre and Hon'ble Mr Justice Anil S Kilor later went on to become Judges of the Bombay High Court. While speaking from his own experience, senior advocate Firdos Mirza pointed out that:
He has a knack for making juniors comfortable. As a High Court Judge, he wouldn't allow senior advocates to appear during vacation benches and made sure personally that the junior lawyers got a chance to argue in court fearlessly.

It is most rejuvenating to note that the new CJI has clearly spelled out that one of his foremost focus areas as CJI is to draw an effective strategy to tackle case pendency across different courts in India. Frankly speaking, the new CJI was most forthcoming in underscoring most vocally stating that:
I have decided that I would like to work on the pendency of cases, right from the bottom level to the Supreme Court. Also, I would like to focus on infrastructure – so far as High Courts are concerned, the infrastructure is very good. However, it is still a big problem for lower courts.

While taking a pragmatic approach on the changes that he could make in his relatively short spell of around 6 months, he candidly acknowledged that:
I don't want to make any promises in the beginning. I've seen so many people speaking of so many things in the beginning, and at the end, they don't accomplish 50 percent of that. He has thus made it indubitably clear that he will let his actions speak louder than words! Very rightly so!

By all accounts, we all have noticed that in the last couple of years, the top court has been charged with stepping and infringing into the executive domain. This charge has been made more vocally in news channels and in media after its judgment that was delivered recently in Tamil Nadu Governor case and following the observations that were made in the Waqf Amendment Act case. On this aspect, the new CJI was most forthright in conceding that:
I don't look at social media. I'm neither on Instagram nor on X. As long as your conscience says that you are right, you should not be bothered about what one criticizes. Everybody has a right to criticize and a fair criticism of the judgment is always welcome. No denying it!

To be sure, the new CJI also advised all Judges stating most fairly that:
A Judge should only focus on deciding cases according to their conscience, regardless of what others say. I personally say that a Judge's judgment should not be affected by what the criticism is. A Judge is supposed to decide on the basis of the papers before him on the basis of law that is linked…One has to decide according to his own conscience.

While recalling from his own personal experience, the new CJI recounted that how he too many times was at the receiving end of a barrage of public criticism and most prominently when he was a part of a Bench that had strongly upheld the power of States to sub-classify reserved category groups (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) into different groups based on their inter se backwardness, for extending reservation benefits. What really wins maximum accolades and grabbed maximum eyeballs is his most unequivocal stand holding precisely that, My judgment on sub-classification also brought a lot of criticism. I also come from Scheduled Caste, but why should my children take up the share of someone more deserving from a village? Ultimately, it's the Constitution that is supreme. After the Kesavananda Bharati judgment, the position is very clear – you can't tinker with the basic structure of the Constitution. No denying it!

It would be instructive to note that he was most vocal in asserting that in consonance to his steadfast firm alignment to Dr BR Ambedkar's philosophy of equality and dignity for the downtrodden and a day before taking oath as new CJI, he reiterated humbly that he considers his position as a Judge and head of judiciary an opportunity to strive for social and political justice. While interacting with journalists after visiting Shanti Stupa in Delhi on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, the new CJI was most emphatic in holding that BR Ambedkar's belief in the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity remains eternally essential for India's democracy and unity. He firmly reiterated that, Justice must be equitable irrespective of a person's social or monetary status.

It is in this context that more High Court Benches must be created in big States like UP and Rajasthan which have just one at Lucknow so near to Allahabad High Court in Eastern UP alone and at Jaipur respectively and lawless Bihar has none! It is West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of UP with more than 10 crores population for whom Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge recommended permanent seat at Agra yet not created even about 50 years later and litigants of 30 districts of West UP especially poor who cannot afford plane travel have to travel whole night and nearly a day about 700 to 800 km on average all the way till not even Lucknow but right uptill Allahabad which is more than 230 km far away from Lucknow to seek justice which in itself is the biggest betrayal of Constitution, deepest burial of justice and worst mockery of poorest litigants! It is no secret that Dr BR Ambedkar had recommended separate Statehood for West UP, Central UP and Eastern UP but we see that West UP has not even a single Bench even though majority of pending cases from West UP!

One is totally clueless as to why Centre and concerned States are not taking any meaningful and decisive steps to create more High Court Benches not even in big States even though the 230th Report of Law Commission of India in 2009 most strongly advocated for creation of more High Court Benches in States and yet only few elite States like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam have multiple High Court Benches? No wonder, in the India Justice Report 2025 that was released on April 14, 2025, we see that States like Karnataka with population of just 6 crore having multiple High Court Benches with Dharwad and Gulbarga for just 4 and 8 districts only created in 2008 rank among the best States right on top and West UP with 30 districts and more than 10 crore people not even a single Bench and UP with more than 25 crore population which is more than Pakistan has just one Bench and it is a no-brainer that it has been listed in worst category just like lawless Bihar and Rajasthan among others also figuring in the worst category of States! Five south states rank among top performers as for just 3.5 crore people of Telangana, separate High Court created on June 2, 2014 and so also for Andhra Pradesh with just 4 crore population and we know that Andhra Pradesh Assembly just recently approved a High Court Bench in Kurnool and now discussions are underway on approving one more at Visakhapatnam but for Punjab and Haryana there is no separate High Court for both the States and so no wonder it figures in middle performer category states!

One fervently hopes that the new CJI will fervently work in this direction and seriously ensure that the 230th Report of the Law Commission of India that most strongly recommended creation of more High Court Benches in States is most strictly implemented at least in big deserving States like UP, Rajasthan and Bihar which has been most unfairly denied to them! This will only serve to fulfill what he so strongly believes that:
Timely justice is the ultimate goal. Reducing pendency at every level of the three-tier justice delivery system through a long-term strategy is the need of the hour. The role of a Chief Justice of India was not one of power but of profound duty. No denying!

In conclusion, one feels tempted to ask: When Supreme Court cannot tolerate discrimination and cheating in Mayor elections as we saw in Chandigarh when Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance then why should unjustified and worst discrimination be allowed to be perpetrated perpetually without any rhyme or reason and that too in judiciary itself in distribution of High Court Benches in different regions like in UP, it is Eastern UP alone which has both High Court and a Bench and West UP, Bundelkhand and Purvanchal has not even a single Bench and so also among different States? One hopes he will address this so that this long pending issue is settled now permanently! During his tenure as CJI, the collegium that will be led by him will have the opportunity to fill five vacancies that will arise in Apex Court. He will also have to deal with 81,000 cases that are pending in the Supreme Court. One wishes him all the very best in his new avatar as CJI!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col (Retd) BPS Sirohi, A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera, Meerut - 250001, Uttar Pradesh