A petition has been moved before the Supreme Court seeking 30 per cent reservation for women advocates in appointments to government law officer posts as well as legal panels of the Centre, State governments and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
The matter was briefly taken up by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi.
The plea highlights the persistent under-representation of women in key institutional positions within the legal profession. It points out that no woman lawyer has ever been appointed as the Attorney General or Solicitor General of India, and that none of the Additional Solicitors General presently appearing before various High Courts are women.
According to the petition, the lack of representation of women in government legal posts has a cascading effect on judicial appointments, since such positions often serve as a pathway to elevation to constitutional courts.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice referred to the recent implementation of reservation for women in Bar Association bodies and narrated how a newly appointed woman office-bearer from the Telangana Bar Association had thanked the Court for the initiative. He noted that although women constitute a significant section of practising advocates, their representation in leadership positions remains minimal.
Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, who also serves as President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, referred to a recent survey conducted by the SCBA on the challenges faced by women lawyers. He urged the Court to ensure greater inclusion of women in government legal panels.
Senior Advocate Monika Gusain also highlighted the various professional difficulties encountered by women advocates.
Filed by the Ladli Foundation Trust, the petition argues that despite constitutional guarantees of equality, women continue to face structural barriers in advancing within the legal profession.
The plea states that while women increasingly join law schools and the legal profession, their representation sharply declines in positions of authority. It cites data showing that women constitute only around 15.31 per cent of India’s total enrolled advocates.
The petition further points to the low representation of women in the higher judiciary, noting that in the 35 years since Justice M. Fathima Beevi became the first woman judge of the Supreme Court in 1989, only 11 women have been elevated to the apex court.
The matter is likely to be heard further next week.
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