Appointments Of 11 Judges From Backward Classes, 10 from Scheduled Castes During Tenure Of CJI Gavai

During the six months' tenure of Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai, ten judges from the Scheduled Caste (SC) category, eleven from Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Backward Classes were appointed to different High Courts of the country.

CJI Gavai, who is the India's first Buddhist and second Dalit CJI, headed the three-member Collegium of the Supreme Court which recommended 129 names to the Government for appointment as Judges of different High Courts, out of which 93 names were cleared.

As per the details of appointment of Judges uploaded on the Apex Court's website from May 14 onwards, when Justice Gavai became CJI, 93 names cleared by the Government for the High Court included 13 Judges from the minority communities and 15 women judges. Five of them are related to former or serving judges and 49 judges were appointed from the Bar while rest were from the service cadre.

Five judges i.e., Justice NV Anjaria, Justice Vijay Bishnoi, Justice A.S. Chandurkar, Justice Alok Aradhe, and Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi were also appointed to the Supreme Court during his tenure.

CJI Gavai is set to demit office on Sunday i.e., November 23, 2025 and his successor Justice Surya Kant will be sworn in as the next Chief Justice of India on November 24, 2025 i.e., Monday.

Justice Gavai, the 52nd CJI, has delivered important verdicts during his tenure, including those that stayed key provisions of the Waqf law, struck down of the Tribunal Reforms Act, and allowed the Centre to grant post facto green nods to projects.

Friday was the last working day of CJI Gavai, who is the second Dalit after Justice K.G. Balakrishnan to head the Indian judiciary. Overwhelmed by rich tributes on his last working day, CJI Gavai said that he was leaving the institution "with a full sense of satisfaction and contentment" and as a "student of justice" on concluding four decades of journey as a Lawyer and a Judge.

With PTI Inputs