THE ‘SUPREME’ BIAS
Chief Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde recently remarked that it’s time for a woman to be the CJI. We asked around why no woman has ever made it to the topmost chair in Indian judiciary since Independence
Women are known to be better at conflict-resolution and arriving at lasting solutions. Compassionate and empathetic, they are perceived to be stronger, to withstand pressure and to work out compromises. Women have repeatedly proven they’re better leaders, be it in politics, business, government and nongovernment sectors, sports, etc.
So when Chief Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde remarked that it was time we had a woman Chief Justice India (CJI), many began wondering why no woman was indeed ever appointed to the topmost chair in Indian judiciary since independence. None of the governments, despite the loud noises they made about women empowerment and equality, ever appointed a woman CJI.
The present CJI’s observations that women lawyers often turned down proposals to accept judgeship citing domestic responsibilities, also rustled up many feathers. Women in the legal fraternity, especially, didn’t take kindly to the remark because according to many in the field, they are ready and more than happy to take up that responsibility.
The disadvantage begins from the mind-set of every person, which consciously chooses to perceive women with levity and light-mindedness. Though society has fairly changed and has been accepting women in every sector, yet the change is not sufficient enough to treat women on par with men.
Some women decline judgeship just as some men decline judgeship—for personal reasons. But that’s no grounds for not having enough women judges. In fact, I believe it’s time we had a woman chief justice.
— NIRANJAN REDDY,
— L Vani,
Advocate, Telangana HC.
senior counsel
The question is access and opportunity to break down the glass ceiling. The justice delivery system would definitely benefit from having a female perspective. I practiced in the Supreme Court and witnessed prominent women lawyers struggling to get a Senior Gown though it was very apparent that they deserved it much before most others.
Senior advocate, who also served as Additional Solicitor General of India in the apex court
The first female justice in the Supreme Court was Fatima Beevi appointed on 6 October 1989. The court has seen seven more female justices since. Presently, Indira Banerjee is the only sitting female judge out of the twenty-nine judges (including the CJI) in the court.
Indira Banerjee is the eighth woman judge in the Supreme Court since Independence. She became a high court judge on February 5, 2002 and was made a Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on April 5, 2017. She will retire on September 23, 2022.
SINCE 1989, ONLY SEVEN OTHER WOMEN WERE APPOINTED AS JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT
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Justice Sujatha Manohar
Justice Ruma Pal
Justice Gyan Sudha Misra
Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai
Justice Banumathi
Justice Indu Malhotra
●Justice Indira Banerjee
Clarifying that being an advocate is a tedious job, Altaf Fathima, partner with L&L Partners Law Offices, states, “When women are willing work hard as practising advocates, I can’t believe they’d turn down judgeship for the reasons of taking care of families.”
JUDGED INCORRECTLY
Since the birth of the Republic of India on 26 January 1950, 47 judges have served as the CJI. The 48th CJI appointed, succeeding S.A. Bobde, is N.V. Ramana.
According to Attorney General Venugopal’s December 2020 submission in Supreme Court, only 80 women judges make up a total sanctioned strength of 1,113 judges in the High Courts and the Supreme Court — an embarrassing 7.18%.
L. Vani, an advocate in Telangana High Court, states that though she cannot comment on the veracity of the statement about women declining to take up judgeship roles, she can surely assert that there are competent women in the field, willing to and capable of taking up the role. “It is a fact that women, since the very beginning of their career in the field of law, would be treated indifferently, if not by all, definitely by the majority of this patriarchal society,” she adds.
Vani believe no one person can be blamed here. “The society as a whole acts detrimental to the women’s interest. Starting from giving a brief to a lady advocate, being appointed as Government pleaders/standing counsels/public prosecutors and considered for designating women as senior counsels to being considering for elevation women face disadvantages despite being at least as competent than men chosen for the above roles,” she points out.
A senior lawyer Pinky Anand refers to the adage that women make up half the world when she says that often women have less than half the representation while more than half the responsibilities. “Additionally, women are expected to have careers and bring home the bread and butter while fulfilling their domestic responsibilities. However given that the ability and capacity of women is tremendous, the current representation is obviously unrepresentative and inequitable. It needs a big nudge,” she adds.
Pinky Anand, who also served as Additional Solicitor General of India in the apex court, feels that there is absolutely no question or doubt that India and the world at large need more female representation and the wider perspective it provides. “The question is access and opportunity to break down the glass ceiling. The justice delivery system would definitely benefit from having a female perspective,” she says. “I practiced in the Supreme Court and witnessed prominent women lawyers struggling to get a Senior Gown though it was very apparent that they deserved it much before most others.”
Attributing the above imbalance to lobbying, Altaf Fathima points out how the percentage of women in lower judiciary is more than that in higher judiciary. “Clearly, women face bias that hinders their climb up the ladder,” she says. “Women can make as good CJ as men, and in the role of CJ, women will surely have a huge indirect impact, starting with helping in identifying talent in other women and encouraging it.”
NETWORKING MATTERS
Speaking of deserving women in the legal fraternity who have been passed over for the coveted spot in the apex court, advocate Anuja Kapur points to Justice Gita Mittal. Justice Mittal had also served as the acting chief justice and judge of Delhi High Court.
“Justice Mittal has been an active chief justice of Delhi and I’ve watched her take up exemplary laws calmly and sincerely, which could be a precedent to other courts,” adds Anuja. “To me, no job defines a man or woman’s world,” she states. “In fact, I think women are more disciplined and know what they want and go after it. They’re excellent in all phases of life, so why not the chief justice of India?”
Senior IAS officer Neetu Kumari Prasad, Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, starts by point out that while many prominent lawyers and High Court chief justices are women, as in Telangana, there was never any woman appointed as cabinet secretary, the top most civil servant of India.
She admits it to be strange that India hasn’t seen a woman CJI especially when women (though few in numbers) manage the highest managerial posts in government and non-governmental sectors, the IAS officer shares her thoughts on why women may be considered not ready for the top job in the judiciary.
“In the Government, seniority is generally the most important factor in selecting a candidate for the top posts,” she points out. “Working women tend to take it easy during their mid-career when their kids are small. They adopt the role of primary caregiver and tend to avoid posts that require long hours and heavy responsibilities. They also get less time for socialising after office hours, which is also when several professional relationships and mentoring develop. This networking and the exposure of so called ‘difficult posts’ put women at less advantageous positions when the selection for top post takes place because let’s face it: personal relationships with the bosses/management also play a significant role,” she says.
All said and done, Neetu is certain she’s all for a woman CJI not only for equality, but also because she believes the justice system will tremendously improve with the inherent sensitivity, kindness and intuitive understanding of women holding such a post.
As we close the story, senior counsel Niranjan Reddy shares his thoughts from the male perspective. “Some women decline judgeship just as some men decline judgeship — for personal reasons. But that’s no grounds for not having enough women judges. In fact, I think it’s time we had a just woman chief justice. A better human being and more intelligent person — man or woman — will make a better Chief Justice,” he says.
Senior IAS officer Neetu Kumari Prasad, Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, admits it to be strange that India hasn’t seen a woman CJI especially when women (though few in numbers) manage the highest managerial posts in government and non-governmental sectors. She’s all for a woman CJI not only for equality, but also because she believes the justice system will tremendously improve with the inherent sensitivity, kindness and intuitive understanding of women holding such a post.
Let’s accept that we’ve come really far, fighting all the odds, and have been doing fairly well. Seniors at the bar often tell me they prefer women colleagues for the quality of their work. Yet, we don’t see them becoming judges, which is solely because of lack of opportunities given to women lawyers or because this male-dominated profession does not let women travel up the ladder
SHRADHA GUPTA, Senior Associate, The Law Chambers and Partner, Accord Juris