Constitution as an Evolving Document - A lecture by the Hon’ble Justice B.R. Gavai, Chief Justice of India

Constitution as an Evolving Document

The University of Edinburgh is pleased to welcome the Hon’ble Justice B.R. Gavai, Chief Justice of India, on the 13th of June 2025 who will be joined by Hon'ble Justice Vikram Nath. They will be delivering a public lecture followed by a reception.

About the speakers

Hon’ble Justice B.R. Gavai

Born on 24th November 1960 at Amravati, he joined the Bar on 16th March 1985. He worked with late Barrister Shri Raja S. Bhonsale, former Advocate General and Judge of High Court, till 1987. He practiced independently at Bombay High Court from 1987 to 1990. After 1990, he practiced mainly before Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court.

He practiced in Constitutional Law and Administrative Law. He was Standing Counsel for Municipal Corporation of Nagpur, Amravati Municipal Corporation and Amravati University. He appeared regularly for various autonomous bodies and Corporations like SICOM, DCVL etc. and various Municipal Councils in Vidarbha region.

He worked as Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Nagpur Bench, from August 1992 to July 1993. He was appointed as Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor for Nagpur Bench on 17th January 2000.

He was elevated as Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on 14th November 2003 and appointed as permanent Judge of the Bombay High Court on 12th November 2005. He presided over Benches having all types of assignments at the Principal Seat at Mumbai as well as Benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad and Panaji. He was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on 24th May 2019.

In the last six years, he was a part of around 700 Benches dealing with matters pertaining to variety of subjects including constitutional and administrative law, civil law, criminal law, commercial disputes, arbitration law, electricity law, education matters, environmental law, etc.

He has authored around 300 judgments including Constitutional Bench Judgements on various issues upholding the rule of law and safeguarding the fundamental rights, human rights and legal rights of citizens.

Hon'ble Justice Vikram Nath

Hon'ble Justice Vikram Nath graduated from the University of Lucknow and enrolled as an Advocate in 1987. He practised as an Advocate for 17 years before he was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Allahabad High Court in 2004. In 2006, he became a Permanent Judge at the Allahabad High Court.

In April 2019, Justice Nath was recommended to be elevated as the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. However, the Union Government asked for the recommendation to be reconsidered. He was subsequently appointed as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court in 2019. The seat had been vacant since November 2018 before Justice Nath’s appointment.

On August 17th, 2021, he was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court. He will become the Chief Justice of India on February 9th 2027 and will hold the position for 7 months before he retires in 2027.

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