Women v/s Judiciary

Outgoing senior woman Supreme Court judge Justice Indira Banerjee hoped that more women would be appointed as judges of the top judiciary in the coming days. – “I do hope that there will be more women in the future…hope there is cooperation for the weaker, and there be equality and justice in the shortest span of time. Thank you all,” she said in her concluding remarks.

Similar views were echoed by Justice BV Nagarathna who said that the inclusion of women in the judiciary would ensure that the decision-making process is more “responsive, inclusive and participatory at all levels”.

The percentage of women judges in high courts is only 11.5 per cent, while the Supreme Court has 4sitting women judges out of 33 in office. While the situation of women lawyers in the country is no better – only 15% of the 1.7 million registered advocates are women.

Importance of high women representation in the Indian Judiciary –

• Motivates women to seek justice and enforce their rights through the courts.

• Diversity on the bench would undoubtedly add new and inclusive perspectives to statutory interpretations.

• Increasing judicial diversity enriches and strengthens judicial reasoning’s ability to encompass and respond to varied social contexts and experiences.

• This has the potential to strengthen the justice sector’s response to the needs of women and marginalised groups.

• Though not always the case, having a judge of the same gender as the litigant can help to put the litigant’s mind at ease. For example, a transgender woman as a judge hearing the cases of other trans women that would instil confidence in the litigant as well.

Hence, there is a need to sensitise and emphasise inclusivity among India’s populace in order to bring about institutional, social, and behavioural change. The need of the hour is to change the patriarchal mindset in recommending and approving the names of people to be elevated as high court judges and to provide more representation to worthy women lawyers and district judges for elevation.

JUSTICE CANNOT BE DONE TO WOMEN UNLESS THEY ARE EMPOWERED.