Women High Court Judges: As many as 68 names have been recommended by Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana in one go for appointment as judges in 12 high courts. Interestingly, 10 out of 68 names recommended are women candidates.
Among these 10 women, one is Marli Vankung, the first woman judicial officer from Mizoram whose name has been sent to the Centre for judgeship in the Gauhati High Court.
In another historic decision on August 17, the five-member Collegium headed by the CJI had recommended nine names for elevation as judges of the Supreme Court. This included three women - Justices Hima Kohli, BV Nagarathna and Bela M Trivedi. They took the oath as newly appointed women judges in the Supreme Court on 31 August, 2021. They will be serving along with Justice Indira Banerjee. This is the highest ever number of women judges India has had at the apex court at a given time. Justice Indira Banerjee was the only woman judge before these three women took oath.
In another positive development, Justice BV Nagarathna is among the nine names recommended by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana for appointment to the Supreme Court. If the recommendations are cleared by Central Government, she could become the first woman CJI in 2027.
She has been practicing law in Bengaluru after enrolling as an advocate in 1987. She became Additional Judge of the Karnataka HC in 2008 and was appointed as a permanent judge in 2010, as per reports. She is the daughter of late ES Venkataramiah, the 19th Chief Justice of India who served in the role in 1989.
As per a report, only 7.2 percent of top seats in the judiciary are occupied by women.
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