Less Representation of Female Judges in Indian Courts – Explained Why??

Have you ever thought about the less representation of female judges in the Indian judiciary? How does it feel when the constitution gives equality to all but still the status of women’s presentation is less not just in the Indian judiciary but in other sectors too?

Article 14 of the Indian constitution ensures equality for all on the other hand Article 15 stated that the state shall not discriminate on the basis of sex, case, religion, race, place of birth, or any of them by the state against any citizen. And article 16 gives equal opportunities in public employment. Article 16 stated that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen on the basis of caste, sex, race, descent, place of birth, or any of them.

But still, it is visible that women have less representation in different sectors other than the judiciary. If we talk about our defense forces we have less number of women in the Army, the Navy, and The Air force. And the 0.58 percentage of women in the Indian force. There are 6,807 women serving in the Indian Army with 12,18,036 men serving for the nation.  And in the Indian Air Force, the percentage of women representation is 1.08. Is it not disappointing?

Likewise in Indian politics, women have less as compared to men. The parliament itself has fewer numbers of women. Women make up 14.44 percent of the total members of the Lok Sabha,  According to the latest figures from the Election Commission of India (ECI), women make up 10.5 percent of the total members of Parliament as of October 2021. The WOMEN RESERVATION BILL (Constitution 108 amendment  Bill), 2008 is still pending.

The bill proposes that one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures be reserved for women.

If women wouldn’t have equal participation in the law-making authority then how women can raise their voices. There should be equal participation in these areas. To what extent does the world see women’s issues from men’s eyes

it’s high time to have an equal status in the society.  Why do women need to ask for their rights which are already guaranteed by our laws? However, it is a bitter truth in our country that people often doubt women’s abilities.

The most disappointing thing is that we have a very less number of women judges in the Indian judiciary. At present out of 34 judges in the supreme court, there are only 4 female judges serving the nation. In India, we have 48 percent of the population of women, and just 3.3 percent of the 245 judges who have made it to India’s top court, including the present judges, have been women. No woman has ever served as India’s Chief Justice.

However, it assumes that justice  B V Nagarathna would be the first chief justice of India. It is said to say that after so long of independence we never had a female chief justice of India.

So far there are only 11 female judges who reach the Apex court of the country.

1 JUSTICE  FATHIMA BEEVI: -(1989 to 1992) The first female judge of the supreme court of India

2 JUSTICE SUJATA MANOHAR: (1994 to 1999)

3 JUSTICE RUMA PAL: (2000to 2006)

4 JUSTICE GYAN SUDHA MISRA: (2010 to q2014)

5 JUSTICE RANJANA DESAI: (2011 to 2014)

6 JUSTICE R. BHANUMATI: (2014 to2020)

7 JUSTICE INDU MALHOTRA: (2018 to 2021)

8 JUSTICE INDRA BANERJEE : ( 2018 to 2022)

9 JUSTICE HIMA KOHLI (2021 to2024)

10 JUSTICE BALA TRIVEDI: (2021 to 2025)

11  JUSTICE  B. V NAGARATHNA(2021 to 2027) was assumed to be the first female chief justice of India.

FEMALE JUDGES IN THE HIGH COURTS IN INDIA

In 25 high courts of India, only 11.7% of female representation in state high judiciary. Only 76 female judges are in the high judiciary of state out of 650 judges.

List of judges in the high courts

Allahabad 7, Andhra Pradesh 3 Bombay 8, Calcutta 4, Chhattisgarh 2, Delhi 6, Gujarat 5, Gauhati 1, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Himachal, Rajasthan, have 1 and Karnataka 6, Punjab and Haryana 7, Kerala 4, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana have 2, and  Madras has 13, and Manipur, Meghalaya, Patna, Tripura, Uttarakhand have 0 female judges.

As society changes with time, we can hope for the improvement of women’s representation in all sectors.

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