'If men menstruated, they would understand,' says Supreme Court on sacking of women judges in Madhya Pradesh

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rapped the Madhya Pradesh High Court for terminating services of women civil judges and refusing to reinstate them, expressing its anguish, "if men menstruated, they would understand".

"I wish men had menstruation, then only they would understand," Justice B V Nagarathna said, while presiding over a bench also comprising Justice N Kotiswar Singh.

The bench was livid with the attitude of the High Court, while taking a suo motu matter in this regard.

"Particularly for women, if they are suffering physically and mentally, do not say they are slow and send them home. Let there be same criteria for male judges and judicial officers, we will see then, and we know what happens. How can you have target units (of case disposal) for district judiciary," the bench said.

The court scheduled the matter for further hearing on December 12.

It had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter in January this year.

The case related to termination of the six judges by the Madhya Pradesh government in June 2023.

Considering the matter, an angry court said that the case disposal rate cannot be a yardstick when the judges were suffering mentally and physically.

"It is very easy to say 'dismissed-dismissed' and go home. Even we are hearing this matter at length; can lawyers say we are slow," the bench said.

On July 23, 2024, the bench of the had asked the MP HC to reconsider its decision of terminating the services of judicial officers, within a month, upon representations of the affected judge.

The State law department of the MP govt had passed the order of sacking six women judges, after an administrative committee of it and a full court meeting found their performance during the probation period as unsatisfactory.

"We request the full court of the Madhya Pradesh High Court to reconsider the cases of these judicial officers. On reconsideration, a copy of resolution be placed before this court preferably within four weeks," the apex court had then said.