Assuring ‘total support’, CJI tells women lawyers: You have to shout and demand 50% reservation

NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Sunday exhorted women lawyers to strongly raise their demand for 50 per cent reservation in the judiciary while assuring them of his “total support”.

“I don’t want you to cry but with anger, you have to shout and demand that we need 50 per cent reservation,” he said. The CJI said that it’s an issue of thousands of years of suppression and women are entitled to the reservation and added, “It’s a matter of right, and not a matter a charity.”

He said, “I want to say that I strongly recommend and support the demand of a certain percentage of reservation in all law schools of the country for women, so that they can join the judiciary.”

Speaking at a felicitation function organised by Lady Advocates of Supreme Court for the nine newly appointed judges, including three women judges, CJI Ramana said he has modified Karl Marx’s “Workers of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but your chain” quote for the occasion and added: “Women of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but your chain.” The CJI said, “You all are laughing. Yes, I don’t want you to cry but with anger, you have to shout and demand that we need 50 per cent reservation. It’s not a small issue but an issue of thousands of years of suppression. It is high time we have 50 per cent representation of women in the judiciary. You are entitled (to it), it’s a matter of your right. It is not a matter of charity. It is unfortunate that some things are realised very late.”He said he will be “very happy” whenever the goal will be realised.

“After coming back yesterday night from Odisha, I collected some information about the system in which we are working. In the entire country... in subordinate judiciary less than 30 per cent are women, in high courts women judges are 11.5 per cent and in Supreme Court four women judges out of 33...(that is) 11 or 12 per cent,” the CJI said. He said that out of 1.7 million advocates in the country only 15 per cent are women and only two per cent elected representatives in the state bar councils are women.

It is high time we have 50 per cent representation of women in the judiciary. You are entitled (to it), it’s a matter of your right. It is not a matter of charity. It is unfortunate that some things are realised very late —NV Ramana, Chief Justice of India