What the Supreme Court Collegium will look like under CJI BR Gavai

Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, who took the oath of office on May 14, will have a tenure of little over six months..Unsurprisingly, the Collegium under CJI Gavai will not see many changes. Consisting of the five senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, the Collegium is responsible for appointing judges to the Supreme Court as well as deciding on the transfer of High Court judges. The three senior-most judges make the decisions on appointment of judges to High Courts. As CJI Gavai's tenure commences, the Collegium will comprise Justices Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka, Vikram Nath, and JK Maheshwari. After Justice Oka retires in May 2025, Justice BV Nagarathna, who will be the first ever woman CJI, will become part of the Collegium.Justice MM Sundresh will enter the Collegium after CJI Gavai's retirement on November 23, 2025..More on the member judges below:.CJI BR Gavai.Justice Gavai joined the Bar in March 1985 and practiced independently at the Bombay High Court until his elevation as a judge of the High Court in 2003. He was elevated to the Supreme Court of India on May 24, 2019.He was the first Dalit judge in nearly a decade to appointed to the top court, a fact which was clearly mentioned in the Collegium resolution recommending his elevation. He will also be the second ever Dalit Chief Justice of India after Justice KG Balakrishnan.Justice Gavai will serve as CJI from May 14, 2025 to November 23, 2025..He was part of Constitution Bench decisions which upheld the Central government's 2016 demonetisation drive, and upheld the power of states to sub-classify reserved category groups.More recently, Justice Gavai was part of a five-judge bench which held that the Supreme Court can modify arbitral awards using Article 142 of the Constitution..CJI-designate BR Gavai reveals his priorities over the next 6 months [Read interview].Justice Kant was a lawyer specialising in constitutional, civil and service matters and was designated a Senior Advocate in 2001.He held the office of Advocate General of Haryana until his elevation as a permanent judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court on January 9, 2004. He later served as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. He was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.His will have a tenure of over fourteen months as CJI from November 24, 2025 to February 9, 2027.Justice Kant dissented from the majority in the Aligarh Muslim University Case, opining that an institution can claim minority status only if it is established and administered by a minority. He concurred with the majority in the Constitution Bench judgments upholding the abrogation of Article 370 and upholding the validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act of 1955..Justice Oka began his practice as an advocate in 1983 in Thane district court, in the chamber of his father Shreeniwas W Oka.After being elevated as a judge of the Bombay High Court in August 2003, he was appointed as Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court in May 2019. He was elevated to the Supreme Court on August 31, 2021.He was part of the Constitution Bench that held that the Court's 2014 judgment striking down the requirement for prior government sanction for CBI investigations against Central government bureaucrats, would have retrospective effect.Most recently, he was part of the nine-judge bench which held that states have the power to levy cesses on mining and mineral-use activities.Justice Oka will demit office on May 24, 2025..Justice Nath began his practice as an advocate in Uttar Pradesh in 1987. He was elevated as an additional judge of the Allahabad High Court in September 2004 and made permanent in February 2006. He was elevated as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court in September 2019, where he pioneered the live-streaming of court proceedings on YouTube.He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on August 31, 2021 and will serve as CJI from February 10, 2027 to September 23, 2027.Justice Nath was part of the 2023 Constitution Bench decision which struck down the extension of the tenure of incumbent Director of Enforcement Directorate (ED) Sanjay Kumar Mishra.He was also part of the bench which upheld the power of States to sub-classify reserved category groups. In this case, Justice Nath called for the identification of a creamy layer among these reserved categories, but said that the criteria for excluding creamy layer of SCs from the ambit of reservation could be different from that applicable to OBCs..Justice Maheshwari started his practice in Madhya Pradesh in 1985 was later elected as a member of the State Bar Council. His legal practice spanned across civil, criminal, constitutional, service and tax matters.He was appointed as an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on November 25, 2005, and made permanent in November 2008. On October 7, 2019 he was appointed as Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court. He was transferred to serve as Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court in January 2021.He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on August 31, 2021 and will continue in the post till June 28, 2026. He was part of the Constitution Bench which held that the Supreme Court can exercise its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India to grant a decree of divorce to consenting parties, in cases of irretrievable breakdown of marriageHe was also part of the Constitution Bench which rejected a curative petition filed by the Central government seeking additional compensation to be paid by Union Carbide Corporation to the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy..Justice BV Nagarathna, will be the 55th Chief Justice of India and the first ever woman Chief Justice of India. However, her tenure will be for 36 days from September 24 to October 29, 2027- the third shortest tenure of a CJI.Justice Nagarathna is the daughter of Justice ES Venkataramiah, the 19th Chief Justice of India. She started practicing law in 1987 initially with KESVY & Co, Advocates. She moved to independent practice in 1994, focusing on administrative, constitutional, commercial and family laws.In February 2008, she was appointed as an additional judge of the Karnataka High Court and was made permanent in 2010. She was elevated to the Supreme Court on August 31, 2021. As a judge of the Supreme Court, she has been part of many Constitution Bench judgments and has delivered strong dissenting opinions in several of them such as the cases concerning the royalty paid by mining operators to the Centre, the power of States to levy tax on industrial alcohol, etc. Justice Nagarathna was the sole dissenter in the Constitution Bench verdict which upheld the Central government's 2016 Demonetisation Scheme. She opined that the RBI had not applied its mind while considering the demonetisation proposal sent by the government. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.