A body of women lawyers has approached the Supreme Court with an appeal for greater representation of women in higher judiciary, predominantly in higher judiciary, as well as the apex court. According to the application filed by the Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association, the plea comes as a way to not just encourage and support the well-being of women on the whole, but also act as a means to safeguard their dignity and boost their active participation when it comes to decision making. This application is filed in the unresolved matter in which the apex court had previously sought the views of all high courts on the likelihood of appointing ad-hoc judges in line with Article 224-A of the Constitution of India, the one that deals with the appointment of judges.
During the hearing which was held on March 26, a Bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, had urged the Centre to respond within a reasonable time frame on its collegium recommendations. It had also asked Attorney General KK Venugopal to issue a statement regarding the status of the proposals, and are currently awaiting a final notification from the government. The issue is likely to come up for hearing on April 8.
Making its case before the SC, the Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association asserted the need for adequate representation of women in higher judiciary for “societal progress and gender equality”. The petition goes on to demonstrate the dismal representation of women in India’s higher judiciary.
According to the application, of the 1,080 sanctioned strength of judges, there are 661 posts that are occupied. Of this, only 73 are women judges. If that’s not all, there is no single woman high court judge in five high courts—Manipur, Meghalaya, Patna, Tripura and Uttarakhand. “It is pertinent in the present constrained circumstances with inadequate gender representation in the higher judiciary, that after giving due weightage on merit, the number of women judges in the Supreme Court as well as the High Court should be increased so that they are adequately represented,” the application states.
*Image used for representational purposes only