JOIN USHigh time that a woman became CJI, says S A Bobde
The Supreme Court on Thursday said the time has come for a woman to become the Chief Justice of India (CJI) but that female lawyers often refuse judgeship citing domestic and parental responsibilities.
A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice S A Bobde pointed to the difficulties faced by the High Court Collegium while choosing women lawyers for the post of judges.
"The time has come for a woman Chief Justice of India. The chief justices of high courts, however, stated that when lawyers are asked to come on the bench, they deny by saying they have domestic responsibilities or that their children are studying in Class 11 or 12," the CJI said.
The court was hearing a matter related to the appointment of ad hoc judges in high courts to deal with the huge pendency of cases. It reserved its order in the case.
Advocates Shobha Gupta and Sneha Kalita pressed for a direction on a plea filed on behalf of the Supreme Court Women Lawyers' Association for adequate representation in the higher judiciary, as their participation in justice delivery system was an important factor for gender equality and societal progress.
The court refused to issue notice. The SC, however, assured that it had the best interest of women in mind but required capable candidates.
After the hearing, advocate Kalita said it was good that a discussion has started on women's representation but "we were disappointed to hear that some of us refused the offer due to domestic reasons".
"It is high time that the man also equally undertook household responsibilities, may be more, if it is required for the cause of the country and also because his wife is getting a chance in the decision-making system," she said.
In its plea, the women's body said that out of 1,080 sanctioned posts of judges (including permanent and additional judges), there are 661 working judges. Out of this, only 73 are women.
Presenting a chart, they said the Madras High Court, with 13 female judges, had the distinction of having the highest number of women judges. However, out of 25 high courts, five (Manipur, Meghalaya, Patna, Tripura and Uttarakhand) did not have a single woman judge.