B. R. Gavai (born 1960) is an Indian jurist currently serving as the 52nd Chief Justice of India since May, 2025, having been appointed as a Supreme Court judge in 2019.
Previously, he was a judge at the Bombay High Court for 14 years and now also serves as the chancellor of various National Law Universities (NLUs).
Justice Gavai was a member of the five-judge Constitution Bench that upheld the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
He has authored around 300 judgments including Constitution Bench Judgements on various issues upholding the rule of law and safeguarding the fundamental rights, human rights and legal rights of citizens.
Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai comes from a politically active family. His father R.S. Gavai led the Republican Party of India (Gavai) faction and was an M.P. and Governor, while his brother Dr. Rajendra Gavai is also a politician. The family, inspired by B.R. Ambedkar, practices Buddhism. He is the first Chief Justice of India from the Buddhist community. He is also the second Dalit (SC) to hold the office, following Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, a member of the Scheduled Castes, who previously served as Chief Justice.
After completing his degrees in Commerce and Law from Amravati University, he began his legal career in 1985.