{"id":53008,"date":"2025-09-03T20:28:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T14:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=53008"},"modified":"2025-09-09T10:59:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T05:29:50","slug":"india-women-judges-supreme-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/03-09-2025\/india-women-judges-supreme-court","title":{"rendered":"India Needs More Women Judges in the Supreme Court"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/Role of Women; GS2\/Judiciary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Only one woman judge<\/strong> serves among the <strong>Court\u2019s full strength of 34 judges<\/strong> as of now, raising questions about inclusivity, equity, and the broader implications for justice delivery.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Women in Supreme Court of India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court has appointed <strong>only 11 women judges<\/strong>, amounting to a mere <strong>3.8% of the total 287 judges,<\/strong> since its inception in 1950, and it has never had more than four women judges serving simultaneously.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The first woman was <strong>Justice Fathima Beevi in 1989<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The last significant step came in 2021 when three women were appointed together, briefly pushing women\u2019s representation above 10%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Notably, women from <strong>Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, or other marginalized communities<\/strong> have been entirely excluded.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Justice B.V. Nagarathna is currently the sole woman judge on the bench, and is expected to become India\u2019s first woman Chief Justice in 2027.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Representation in High Courts and Lower Judiciary<\/strong><br>&#8211; According to the Department of Justice, women constitute <strong>only about 14% of High Court judges<\/strong> across India.<br>&#8211; The numbers are slightly better in the <strong>lower judiciary<\/strong>, where women make up <strong>approximately 30% of judicial officers.<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Women Representation Matters?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Enhancing Judicial Sensitivity and Perspective:<\/strong> Women judges bring lived experiences that enrich judicial reasoning, especially in cases involving:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Gender-based violence;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Workplace harassment;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Family law and custody disputes;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reproductive rights;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legitimacy and Public Trust:<\/strong> A judiciary that visibly includes women signals fairness and inclusivity.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It strengthens public confidence in the legal system and affirms the constitutional promise of equality of status and opportunity for all citizens.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Correcting Historical Exclusion: <\/strong>The chronic underrepresentation reflects systemic barriers in legal education, practice, and promotion.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Government\u2019s Role in Promoting Diversity:<\/strong> The Constitution does not mandate reservation for women in judicial appointments.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>But, the government has urged High Courts to consider social diversity, including gender, when recommending candidates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges to Inclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Problem with the Collegium System: <\/strong>The <strong>Collegium system<\/strong>, comprising the Chief Justice of India and four senior-most judges, decides appointments. But, its functioning is <strong>opaque and inconsistent<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>While caste, region, and religion are sometimes considered, <strong>gender is not institutionalized as a criterion<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Resolutions explaining appointments have also been irregular, adding to the lack of transparency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Exclusion from the Bar: <\/strong>Only <strong>one woman \u2014 Justice Indu Malhotra \u2014 has <\/strong>been directly appointed from the Bar to the Supreme Court, while <strong>nine men<\/strong> have <strong>made it through this path<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Limited Pipeline:<\/strong> Fewer women reach senior positions in the legal profession, reducing their visibility for elevation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Justice Nagarathna will serve only for <strong>36 days as a Chief Justice in 2027<\/strong>, underscoring the limitations created by delayed appointments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Workplace Bias:<\/strong> Gender stereotypes and lack of institutional support discourage women from pursuing judicial careers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Institutionalize diversity<\/strong>: Gender, caste, religion, and region must be formal criteria in judicial appointments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Direct appointments from the Bar<\/strong>: More women Senior Advocates should be considered.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Early appointments<\/strong>: Appoint women at younger ages to allow longer tenures and pathways to seniority.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Transparency in selection<\/strong>: Collegium deliberations need to be made public with clear justifications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court of India has long championed gender equality in its judgments. But, it falls short in embodying those very principles within its own structure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Correcting the severe gender imbalance is not just about fairness to women in the legal profession \u2014 it is about ensuring that the Court truly represents the people it serves.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Daily Mains Practice Question<\/strong><br><strong>[Q]<\/strong> Discuss the significance of increasing the representation of women in the Supreme Court of India. How might greater gender diversity influence judicial decision-making and public perception of the judiciary?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/lead\/india-needs-more-women-judges-in-the-supreme-court\/article70004980.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/UPSC-Editorial-Analysis-3-September-2025.PDF.pdf\">Download PDF<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Only one woman judge serves among the Court\u2019s full strength of 34 judges as of now, raising questions about inclusivity, equity, and the broader implications for justice delivery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53008"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53012,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53008\/revisions\/53012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}