Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was sworn in as the 52nd Chief Justice of India on Wednesday. The oath of office was administered by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Gavai succeeds Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who retired on Tuesday. He will have a tenure of six months before he retires on November 23.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were among those who attended the function, The Indian Express reported.

Gavai is the first Buddhist and the second Dalit chief justice in the country.

Gavai practiced at the Bombay High Court between 1987 and 1990, mainly before the Nagpur bench. He also served as government pleader and public prosecutor for the Nagpur bench from 2000 to 2003, when he was made an additional judge. He became a permanent judge in 2005.

Gavai was elevated as a Supreme Court judge in May 2019.

When recommending Gavai’s elevation to the top court, the Supreme Court collegium had clarified that it was not a reflection on the suitability of the three senior-most judges from the Bombay High Court – two of whom are serving as chief justices, The Indian Express reported.

“On his appointment, the Supreme Court Bench will have a Judge belonging to the Scheduled Caste category after about a decade,” the collegium had said.

Won’t take up post-retirement job: Outgoing CJI 

Outgoing Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Tuesday said that he would not take up any post-retirement job, The Telegraph reported.

“I will not accept any post-retirement posts, but perhaps in my third innings I will do something related to law,” Khanna was quoted as saying.

This marked a departure from some of his predecessors, who took up roles such as governors or Rajya Sabha members after retirement – like former Chief Justices P Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi.