Chief Justice of India, NV Ramana remarked on Sunday that a 50 per cent female presence in the judiciary is not a matter of charity but justice and that he is “forcing the executive to apply necessary correctives.”
Chief Justice Ramana, lamenting centuries of gender discrimination in the workplace, called for an “urgent correction” and said he strongly supports reserving a “significant percentage of seats” in law schools and universities for women.
At a Supreme Court event organised by female advocates, the chief justice stated, “Enough of suppression of thousands of years. It is high time we have 50% representation of women in judiciary. It is your right. It is not a matter of charity.”
There are now no reservations for women in India's higher judiciary, which includes the Supreme Court and the high courts. The policy of the state government and the related high court determines whether or not such reservations are made in subordinate courts.
Justice Ramana's statement came just weeks after his collegium cleared the path for a woman to lead the Supreme Court in 2027.
Out of a total of 34 judges in the Supreme Court, only four are women including justices Indira Banerjee, Hima Kohli, BV Nagarathna, and Bela M Trivedi. This is the largest number of women judges in the court's history.
Three judges were appointed on August 31 in addition to Justice Banerjee, bringing the total number of women judges on the Supreme Court to 11.
In September 2027, Justice Nagarathna will become the first woman chief justice. She'll be there for a little more than a month.
According to justice Ramana, women make up only about 30 per cent of the lower judiciary. “Women make about 11.5 per cent of high court judges. We now have four female justices on the Supreme Court, out of a total of 33. That's only 12 per cent of the total. Only 15 per cent of the 1.7 million advocates are female,” he said. Women make up only two per cent of the elected delegates on state bar councils. The Bar Council of India has no female members, according to the chief justice.
He claims that women face numerous barriers to entering the industry, and that gender stereotypes force them to shoulder the bulk of household responsibilities. “Clients’ preference for male advocates, uncomfortable environment within courtrooms, lack of infrastructure, crowded courtrooms, lack of washrooms for women, etc., all these deter women from entering the profession... An important focus area is to increase gender diversity in legal education,” he said. He further continued, “I strongly advocate reservation of a significant percentage of seats in law schools and universities for women, as a first step.”
Justice Ramana stated emphatically that the participation of female judges and lawyers will significantly improve the quality of justice delivered, and that he will enthusiastically support initiatives that will help to eliminate gender disparities in the field.
He commended the female judges in attendance (Justices Banerjee, Kohli, Nagarathna, and Trivedi), adding that their efforts to preserve the Constitution will inspire women not only in the legal profession but in all aspects of life.
He also remarked, “Women visibility as judicial officials can open the way for greater representation of women in other decision-making positions such as the legislative and executive branches of government.”
According to law ministry figures, only 81 of the 677 sitting judges on the Supreme Court and high courts are women, representing barely 12 per cent of the total.
Only the Madras high court has more than ten woman judges among the 25 high courts. The Madras high court has 13 women out of a total of 58 judges, accounting for more than 22 per cent of the total.
At least five high courts—Manipur, Meghalaya, Bihar, Tripura, and Uttarakhand—do not have a single female judge, while seven others just have one.
Justice Ramana expressed hope in his remarks on Sunday that the Supreme Court will reopen fully for offline proceedings after the Dussehra holiday, which concludes on October 17.
According to him, the bar's reservations about some limitations in the standards for physical hearings are being addressed.