CJI NV Ramana promises to raise demand for a higher proportion of women on the bench

By: WE Staff | Wednesday, 15 December 2021

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana lamented the "very low" participation of women in the legal profession at all levels, promising that he would raise the demand for a higher proportion of women on the bench than 50% with his collegium colleagues.

Referring to the pressure of being the CJI, Justice Ramana said, "Sister Hima Kohli enquired with concern if I am under stress. Yes, I am under stress. Being the Chief Justice is stressful. I cannot avoid. I have to deal with it." The CJI, while speaking at a felicitation ceremony of Justice Hima Kohli on her elevation to the Supreme Court, said that he was accused of "instigating revolution" by asking women to seek more representation for themselves using a modified Karl Marx quote.

"The modified Karl Marx quote, i.e. 'nothing to lose but your chains', that I used when I addressed you last time led to a complaint being lodged with the highest authority. I was accused of instigating revolution," He informed the crowd.

"The demand for higher representation beyond 50 per cent on the Bench in view of backlog of under representation of women is taken note of. I promise to take up your demand with my Brothers in the collegiums," he reassured the female lawyers who had gathered.

In response to the topic of women's underrepresentation in the judiciary, he stated that women make up roughly 30% of judges in the lower courts.

"Some states have a good number of women judges, whereas in other states the representation is abysmal," he said. In high courts, the percentage of women judges is mere 11.5 per cent, while in the Supreme Court there are four sitting women judges out of 33 in office, the Chief Justice of India said. "The situation of women lawyers in the country is not any better. Out of 1.7 million advocates registered, only 15 per cent are women," he explained.

He believes that the focus should be on increasing the number of females who choose to study law after high school in order to encourage women in law and litigation.  "This is why I had recommended last time for some form of uniform policy of reservation for girls for entry into law colleges across the country," he said.

The late US Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg was also referenced by the CJI "women belong in all places where decisions are being made...It shouldn't be that women are the exception." He stated that women face a number of obstacles in the legal profession, including bias, a lack of judicial infrastructure, and so on.

"The continued prevalence of certain attitudes about the role of women in society -- this issue is a problem a woman faces regardless of the type of employment," he said.

Another concern, according to the CJI, is the bias that women suffer, whether from colleagues or litigants. He claims that this bias affects not only women lawyers, but also judges.