title: 
style: nestedList # TOC style (nestedList|nestedOrderedList|inlineFirstLevel)
minLevel: 0 # Include headings from the specified level
maxLevel: 0 # Include headings up to the specified level
include: 
exclude: 
includeLinks: true # Make headings clickable
hideWhenEmpty: false # Hide TOC if no headings are found
debugInConsole: false # Print debug info in Obsidian console

Many empirical studies show that having even one woman on a three-judge panel has an effect on the entire panel’s decision-making in gender discrimination cases.

Women representation in state assemblies

June 2019

Sexism in Indian judiciary runs so deep

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, former Additional Solicitor General, recently mentioned that a senior male lawyer referred to her as “that woman” while he referred to other male lawyers as “my learned friend”. Print

May 2020

Justice Nagarathna, from Karnataka HC

Could succeed Justice Surya Kant, as CJI in 2027

could succeed Justice Surya Kant as CJI in February 2027, and occupy the post until 29 October 2027.

Father, served as CJI for few months in 1989

Justice Nagarathna’s father, Justice E.S. Venkataramiah, had been a CJI for a few months in 1989.

Set to retire in 2024, if not elevated to SC

Justice Nagarathna is to retire on 29 October 2024, unless she gets elevated to the Supreme Court — all SC judges get a three-year extension.

Seniority and Regional representation - major criteria for elevation to SC

“When it comes to elevation to the Supreme Court, seniority and regional representation are major criteria. But then, there have been instances in the past when seniority has been overlooked while elevating somebody to the Supreme Court.” - former chief justice of India Print

October 2020

India's largest Bankruptcy case - resolved by 3 women lawyers

Lawyers

1. Shally Bhasin
2. Ruby Ahuja
3. Misha

Between

Between Essar Steel India Ltd. and Arcelor Mittal - the amount of debt owed and recovered was $5.6 billion.

Set the terms for future instance

This case empowered the Indian banks with legal authority to set the terms of the distribution of recovered money between financial and operational creditors for future cases.

World Bank study about women representation in Indian judiciary

Among the 122 economies with at least one female justice in higher judiciary, India has the smallest share of women on the bench, according to a World Bank study.

Until 1921, female lawyer not allowed to practice in India

Until 1921, when the first female lawyer was allowed to practice in India, women did not fit the description of the term ‘person’ as defined in the colonial era laws that guided legal practice.

15% courts have no restroom for women, as of 2020

around 15% or over 100 district court complexes across the country did not even have restrooms for women - Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, in 2020. Print

December 2020

Only 2 woman judges in SC and 82 of 1,079 judges in HCs

Submission by Attorney General Venugopal

The attorney general Venugopal, had made the submission to a bench comprising Justice Khanwilkar and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat who were hearing an appeal filed by nine women lawyers seeking regulation of bail conditions in rape, molestation and attempt to rape cases.

Only 8 woman judges in SC, since 70 years

Since its inception 70 years ago, only eight woman judges have been appointed to the Supreme Court.

Justice Fatima Beevi, first woman Sc judge in 1989

Justice Fathima Beevi was the first woman SC judge and she was appointed in 1989, 40 years after its establishment.

7 others woman judges in SC

Since 1989, only seven other women were appointed as judges of the Supreme Court

1. Justice Sujatha Manohar,
2. Justice Ruma Pal,
3. Justice Gyan Sudha Misra,
4. Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai,
5. Justice Banumathi,
6. Justice Indu Malhotra - first directly appointed woman judge
7. Justice Indira Banerjee.

2009 - first representation of women of federal governments

Only in 2009, a woman represented the federal government in courts.

Woman judges in high courts

82/1079 women judges

Across the 26 high courts in India, there are only 82 woman judges out of the total 1,079 judges.

Appointment of women as senior advocates

Definition

title conferred by the Supreme Court or a high court on a lawyer for his or her experience in the bar.

not many female lawyers get designated

though the number of females enrolled in law school is equal to males, not many women lawyers get designated as seniors.

F:M in SC

• According to the Supreme Court’s list of senior advocates, only 4 per cent are women (16 against 400 men) - June 2019
• There are only 17 women senior advocates in the top court, as opposed to 403 men - December 2020

Top 3 are part of collegium system since 1993

Only the top three SC judges are part of the top court’s collegium, whereas the top three in a high court form the collegium there. This system of appointment came into place in 1993.

Criteria for designation should be assessed

the criterion for designation of senior counsels should also be focused upon.

Madras High Court criteria

The Madras High Court norms require a lawyer to fulfil an income limit for the past three years for designation as senior counsel. Contrarily, not all women lawyers get well-paying clients.

Litigants are biased too

Even litigants are biased against women lawyers and they mostly prefer male lawyers with whom they can socialise well.

August 2025

Supreme Court Collegium recommended 136 names for HC judgeship in last 17 months. Only 20 are women

Three CJI served during this period

1. DY Chandrachud
2. Sanjiv Khanna
3. BR Gavai

Female Justices in SC slipped to 1 from 3

In the last seven to eight months, the number of female judges in the Supreme Court has slipped from three to one, after the retirement of Justices Bela Trivedi and Hima Kohli in June this year and September last year.

7/20 from Bar

Of the 20 women recommended by the Collegium, only seven were lawyers chosen from the Bar, while the rest were judicial officers employed with the subordinate judiciary. As per established practice, for every judge from the district judiciary, three should be from the Bar.

9/20 no notified by centre

Nine out of the 20 women recommended by the SC collegium have not been notified by the Centre yet. Print

November 2025

91 Appointments under BR Gavai

16/91 female judges to various HC

There were 16 female judges among 91 appointed to various high courts by the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai.

1 /16 - legacy judge

Among the 16 female judges, however, only one was a legacy judge—Justice Garima Prashad, who was appointed to the Allahabad HC in September. Her father, Sudhir Narain Agarwal, also served as a judge in the Allahabad HC.

1/16 - Scheduled case

among these 16 names, only one comes from the Scheduled Caste category—Justice Ramesh Kumari. Her name was recommended for appointment to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in August.

5/16 - Minority communities

Among the 16 female judges, five are from minority communities—Shamima Jahan (Gauhati HC), Rupinderjit Chahal and Mandeep Pannu (Punjab and Haryana HC), and Shail Jain and Madhu Jain (Delhi HC).

6 - lineage judges appointed

Among the total 91 judges appointed to HCs during Justice Gavai’s tenure, six were lineage judges, meaning they were related to sitting or retired High Court (HC) or Supreme Court (SC) judges.

22/91 - SC or OBC category

Among the 91 appointments overall, 22 judges (about 24 percent) belong to the SC or OBC category. 

13/91 - minority communities

Thirteen are from minority communities such as Sikh, Jain, and Muslim.

Parliamentary reply by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal

In March this year, question about the appointment of women in the judiciary that

since 2014, 6 women judges had been appointed in the Supreme Court. In the last 10 years or so, 162 women judges had been appointed to the country’s high courts. He said that the strength of women judges in HCs stood at 110 out of 751 judges across HCs against a sanctioned strength of 1,122.

Print

February 2026

Lower Judiciary witnessed improved participation of women

4% in HCs, 9.6% in SC

women constitute nearly 4% of judges in the High Court and only 9.3% in the Supreme Court according to the State of Judiciary Report 2023.

Barrier within judicial hierarchy

in several high courts the representation is either negligible or entirely absent. This contrast is between entry-level gains and higher-level stagnation and reveals systemic barriers that restrict women's advancement within the judicial hierarchy

More women entering law schools

More women are now enrolling in the law schools, but their participation level in active legal practice remains limited, forming only 3% of advocates nationwide.

Funnel effect

This shrinking is often described as the funnel effect. While many women enter legal education, very few reach positions of judicial authority

Reasons for this effect

1. Entry-level restrictions: Many states mandate continuous legal practice as a qualification for judicial services but women who take career breaks are disadvantaged under this rigid criteria.
2. Retention barriers: Policies such as mandatory interstate or intrastate transfer disrupt the family stability.
3. Infrastructure gap: Several District Courts lack basic amenities such as separate washrooms for women. Facilities like creches, lactation rooms, and secure resting areas are insufficient.
4. Sociocultural expectations: Women continue to bear the primary burden of care giving and domestic responsibilities, which fail to accommodate in the judiciary's demanding and inflexible work culture.
5. Financial challenges: Women lawyers often begin their careers with lower remunerations compared to male peers. The absence of maternity benefits, structured stipends, and financial safeguards makes long-term career stability difficult.

Why greater representation matters

• for judicial sensitivity
  • In understanding cases involving domestic violence, sexual offenses, reproductive autonomy, and family disputes
• democratic legitimacy
  • inclusive representation strengthens public confidence
• inspirational impact

Female Gaze

• A female gaze in judicial policy-making seeks to correct the structural inequalities in recruitment, evaluation, and promotion and accommodate women's realities instead of forcing adaptation to male-centric norms

International Precedents

UK, Canada

• Adoption of gender quotas in appointments
• Flexible working arrangements
• Structured sensitization training
• Balanced representation in judicial selection bodies

April 2026

Parliament's budget session extended

The Centre has tabled three major bills in the special session of Parliament

1. The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026
2. The Delimitation Bill, 2026
3. The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026

Provisions of the bill

• Proposed 33% reservation (1/3$^{rd}$) for women in Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and Delhi Legislative Assembly.
• Lok Sabha seats were to be increased 543 -> 816
• Following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 census.

Nari Shakti Amendment Bill fails two-thirds vote test, defeated in Lok Sabha - 17.04.2026

Constitution 106th Amendment Act, 2026 was defeated in the Lok Sabha on friday, after failing to secure 2/3$^{rd}$ majority required to pass a constitutional bill.