Three Women Judges Appointed To Supreme Court, Can It Restore Gender Balance In Judiciary?

Justices Hima Kohli, Bela M Trivedi and BV Nagarathna took oath as judges of the Supreme Court on August 31. After their appointment, the number of women judges in Supreme Court has increased to four. This is a historic moment for the Indian judiciary as the apex court now has the highest number of female judges ever.

Ever since the inception of Supreme Court, there have been only 11 women sitting judges in the court, including the current appointments. The number is not impressive enough to claim that the Indian judiciary has now achieved proper gender balance but it can surely be seen as a big step towards it.

The Justices appointed to the top court have now been added to the list with Justice Indira Banerjee (sitting), Justice Sujatha Manohar, Justice Ruma Pal, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, Justice Banumathi, and Justice Indu Malhotra.

The gender balance in judiciary cannot be completely assessed without looking at the High Courts and the subordinate courts in India. As per the current data, there are only 82 women judges sitting in High Courts out the total number of 1,079 judges. This makes the percentage of female representation in the high courts to be 7.5%.

Out of all the High Courts in India, Madras High Court has the highest female representation with 13 sitting judges. Justice Hima Kohli was the first woman to be elevated as Chief Justice of Telangana High Court and for a long time she was the only female Chief Justice service in a High Court in the country.

According to reports, the share of female judges in lower courts of India is at 27% which is still better than the higher courts.

As per the seniority order, Justice BV Nagarathna will become the first female Chief Justice of India in 2027. According to LiveLaw, her tenure will be subject to central government's approval and she will hold the chair for just 36 days. Nevertheless, India will see a woman serving as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for the first time in history.

In her farewell speech at the Karnataka High Court, Justice Nagarathna said, "The message from this leaf in my book which I want women advocates to take note of is, that with access to the right opportunities, each one of you can achieve your dreams. I, therefore, urge each one of you to seek out these opportunities armed with faith in yourself and stride ahead to achieve all that you want to and also give back to society."