Supreme Court: On 30-08-205, vide a resolution, the President and Executive Committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association (‘SCBA’), expressed its concern regarding the lack of women Judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts and resolved to request the Chief Justice of India and the Collegium to give urgent and due consideration to the judicial appointments and elevation of more women Judges in the forthcoming rounds of judicial appointments.
The SCBA noted, with grave concern, the disproportionately low representation of women Judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts across the country. Furthermore, it was a matter of record that several High Courts, such as Uttarakhand, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Manipur, presently had no women Judges.
“Across the country, there are about 1100 sanctioned posts of High Court Judges, out of which nearly 670 are occupied by men and only 103 by women.”
The SCBA expressed its strong disappointment that in the recent round of appointments to the Supreme Court, no woman Judge from the Bar or the Bench was elevated, even though, since 2021, no woman Judge has been appointed to the Supreme Court. At present, there is only one woman Judge serving on the Bench of the Supreme Court.
The resolution also referred to letters sent by the SCBA President to the Chief Justice of India, urging that at least proportional representation of women in the posts in the higher judiciary.
The SCBA stated that it firmly believed that greater gender balance on the Bench was essential not only for ensuring fair and equal representation, but also for strengthening public confidence in the judiciary, enriching judicial perspectives, and reflecting the diversity of our society in the highest institution of justice.
Accordingly, the SCBA resolved to request the Chief Justice of India and the Collegium to give urgent and due consideration to the judicial appointments and elevation of more women Judges in the forthcoming rounds of judicial appointments, both to the Supreme Court and the High Courts.