Only One Woman On List Of Senior Advocates Conferred By Telangana HC

Telangana HC: The Telangana HC conferred a list of 27 senior advocates. Only one woman finds a place in this list.

The Telangana High Court on Saturday, April 17, conferred a list of lawyers designating them as senior advocates. This decision was taken at the Full Court meeting held on April 15, 2021. Advocate Nanda S. is the only woman to find a place in the list of 27 senior advocates.

Similarly, the High Court of Meghalaya conferred only two lawyers as Senior advocates last month. Both the advocates were men named Advocate Amit Kumar and Advocate Kaustav Paul. Around the same time last month, Delhi High Court too released the list of lawyers who have conferred the designation of Senior advocates. In the list of 55 total lawyers, six women found their spot.

The scenario of women in law is such that out of the 25 High Courts, five of them–Meghalaya, Patna, Tripura, Manipur, and Uttrakhand– do not have a single woman residing as a judge.

Who is a senior advocate?

A Senior Advocate cannot file a vakalathnama, appear in the Court without another advocate or advocate-on-record, cannot directly accept an engagement to appear in a case or draft pleadings.

A lawyer can be designated as a senior advocate with their consent by the Supreme Court of India or the High Court. The Court decides on the basis of the lawyer's ability, standing at the Bar, or special knowledge or experience in law. The Court decided whether the lawyer is deserving of the distinction.

CJI Bobde on appointing woman CJI

On Thursday, the Chief Justice of India reportedly said that it is time for India to have a woman Chief Justice. The lawyers Shoba Gupta and Sneha Khalita representing the Women Lawyers’ Association argued that the judiciary lacks female representation. To this CJI Bobde said, " We have the interest of women in our minds, and we are implementing it best."