Days after the college he led paved the way for a judge to lead the judiciary in 2027, India’s chief judge, NV Ramana, said on Saturday that he would prefer at least 50% of women’s representation. to the judiciary at all levels.
Regretting the insufficient number of women judges in all courts of the country, the CJI opined that the legal profession has yet to welcome women in its place, as most women advocates struggled within the profession.
“Very few women are represented at the top. Even when they do, they continue to face important challenges. After 75 years of independence, at least 50% representation of women at all levels was expected, but I must admit that with great difficulty we have now achieved only 11% representation of women on the bench of the Supreme Court. ” , said Justice Ramana.
In statements to a function organized by the Bar Council of India (BCI) to congratulate him, the CJI stressed that the issue regarding the representation of women in the judiciary should be highlighted and deliberated.
Of the sanctioned force of 34 judges, the Supreme Court currently has four women judges (Judges Indira Banerjee, Hima Kohli, BV Nagarathna and Bela M Trivedi), which is the highest number in history. Apart from Justice Banerjee, three judges were appointed on 31 August, which meant that the total number of women judges appointed to the higher court up to 11 was. Judge Nagarathna is in line to become the first CJI woman in September 2027, and will have a tenure of just over a month.
According to data from the Union’s Ministry of Law and Justice, of the 677 acting judges of the Supreme Court and higher courts, only 81 are women. This makes the representation of women judges in the total workforce only 12%.
Among the 25 high courts, only the Madras high court has women judges in double digits. Of the workforce of 58 judges, Madras HC has 13 women, accounting for more than 22%. At least five higher courts (Manipur, Meghalaya, Bihar, Tripura and Uttarakhand) do not have a single judge, while another seven higher courts have only one judge.
The sanctioned force of the judges of 25 superior courts of India is 1,098. Of these, 465 positions (more than 42% of the total force) were vacant, as of 1 September.
In his speech, CJI Ramana highlighted how the college, which also includes Judges Uday Lalit, AM Khanwilkar, Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao, is trying to address the issue of vacancies in the higher judiciary as a matter of urgency.
After noting his gratitude for the other members of the college, Judge Ramana said that only because of the collective efforts has the vacancy in the Supreme Court been reduced to one judge, while 82 names have been recommended. for appointment in various high courts. since the CJI took the helm in April this year.
“I hope the Government will make sure that the names are deleted as soon as possible in the same way that the 9 names for the apex court were deleted. It is an ongoing process. We hope to live up to the Herculean challenge of covering almost 41% of existing vacancies in all higher courts, ”added Judge Ramana.
Last week, the college has recommended a total of 68 names for 12 higher courts. The figures included nine names that the Union government opposed, but the college has reiterated them after it canceled the opposition. The reiterations included, in addition, four names for the high court of Calcutta; two for the Jammu and Kashmir High Court; two for the high court of Karnataka and one for the high court of Rajasthan.
This is the highest number of names recommended for appointment as HC judges.
Of the 68 names deleted, 44 are lawyers, while 24 are judicial officers. There are 10 women among the recommendations. In another first novelty, an official woman belonging to the tribes scheduled for appointment to the Gauhati High Court was recommended.