Why is the representation of women in the Indian higher judiciary so poor

Legal experts feel some women advocates are more deserving that their male counterparts to be elevated to the higher judiciary. However the patriarchal system continues

New Delhi, Jan 12: Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud during a conversation at the Harvard Law University blamed the feudal system and said that the judiciary is unwelcoming of women. The pool of judges coming into the higher judiciary dates back to thirty years back, he also said.

There are many factors why the strength of women judges. In the Supreme Court till date there have been just 11 women judges and not a single Chief Justice of India. It is only twice-2013 and 2018 that the Supreme Court had an all-woman Bench. The 2013 Bench comprised Justices Gyan Sudha Mishra and Ranjana Prakash Desai. In 2018, the bench comprised Justices Hina Kohli and Bela M Trivedi.

Of the 680 judges in the High Court, just 83 are women and the strength in the lower judiciary is just 30 per cent.

Why is women representation low in the judiciary:

One of the main reasons for this is due to the patriarchy in society and the hostile atmosphere they have to face in some of the court rooms. Some women have recounted a traumatic experience rom the bar and the bench and often feel that their opinions are silenced.

Senior advocate, K N Phanindra tells OneIndia that the reason for such a low representation of women judges is because the judiciary even today remains male dominant. The scenario is changing, but not at the pace one would have expected it to, he adds.

Phanindra further added that many women lawyers are better than their male counterparts, but fail to get elevated. The judiciary is not getting out of that outdated thought process that if a woman becomes a judge, their family lives will get spoilt, he added. The strength has to drastically go up and in my view, there should be 50 per cent women judges in all High Courts and the Supreme Court in the next ten years.

The collegium system:

To be appointed as judge in the High Court there are two types of elevation. Either an advocate is directly appointed or a judge from a lower court can be elevated. It is the collegium that appoints the judges to the higher judiciary and it has always been male dominated. This results in women opting for the lower judiciary as there is an entrance exam. It has also been seen that those being elevated to the higher courts from the lower judiciary is very low.

Moreover there is a reservation policy that is missing in the higher judiciary. However many states such as Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan, Odisha and Telangana have reservation for women in the lower judiciary as a result of which there are nearly 40 per cent of women judicial officers.

Infrastructure:

Most of the lower courts do not have good infrastructure. The court rooms are crowded and there is a lack of basic amenities as a result of which women are fewer in the courts. In most parts of the country, the number of women advocates are low as a result of which the pool of judges to be selected becomes lower.

Women judges in Supreme Court:

Currently the Supreme Court has a working strength of 27 of the sanctioned 34 of which only 3 are women judges- Justices Hina Kohli, B V Nagarathna and Bela Trivedi.

The first woman judge of the Supreme Court was Justice Fathima Beevi. The Supreme Court of India came into existence on January 26 1950 and it got its first woman judge October 6 1989.

Justice Sujata Manohar was elevated as Supreme Court judge on November 8 1999. Justice Ruma Pal, the longest serving woman Supreme Court judge was appointed on January 28 2000 and her term ended on June 2 2006.

The next appointment was that of Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra who was elevated and appointed on April 30 2010. Justices Ranjana Desai and R Banumathi were appointed on September 13 2011 and August 13 2014 respectively. Justice Indu Malhotra was appointed on April 27 2018 while Justice Indira Banerjee became a judge of the Supreme Court on August 7 2018.

Justices Hima Kohli and Bela Trivedi were both appointed August 31 2021. Justice B V Nagarathna the daughter of former Chief Justice of India E S Venkatramaiah was appointed as judge of the Supreme Court on August 31 2021. She is assumed to be the first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027.