Gita Mittal highlighted challenges women face entering and advancing in the judiciary, recalling a Delhi High Court collegium meeting where she questioned the absence of women during discussions on judicial appointments.
Former Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Gita Mittal, openly discussed the ongoing challenges that women face when entering and progressing in the judiciary during a session.
Reflecting on a past experience during a Delhi High Collegium meeting regarding judicial appointments, she recalled questioning the absence of women.
She said,
“There was a time when 7 judges were appointed by the collegium. Once they were all discussing. I said at the end, ‘but no woman judges’. One of the collegium members said ‘how many of you are there – 6 out of 35 in the Delhi High Court’. He said ‘don’t you think there are enough?’ I questioned back – ‘don’t you think there are enough men?’ Silence.”
Mittal pointed out that structural issues can significantly impact women’s careers within the judicial service. She recounted a specific case in which a district judge’s Annual Confidential Report (ACR) was downgraded due to her taking leave.
She explained,
“A district judge ACR was lowered because she was on leave. First, she was on pregnancy leave and second, was when her mother-in-law was not well. Her husband was a judge as well, but he did not take the leave. So these are the issues you see,”
According to Mittal, the judicial appointment process should also provide candidates with the opportunity to address any negative feedback received during background checks.
She made these remarks during a session titled “Half the Nation, Half the Bench: The Way Forward” at the Indian Women in Law (iWiL) conference, which focused on enhancing women’s representation in the higher judiciary.
The panel also included Justice Shampa Sarkar of the Calcutta High Court, Supreme Court Justice Dipankar Datta, and Justice Venkata Jyothirmai Pratapa of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The discussion was moderated by Senior Advocates Karuna Nundy and Uttara Babbar.
Justice Sarkar discussed the challenges faced by women lawyers in their early careers, particularly regarding access to high-profile cases.
She commented,
“The issue is not merit. There is subtle gender discrimination. Clients are not interested in giving woman lawyers a chance in high-profile cases,”
She shared an experience from her time as a young lawyer in a senior advocate’s chamber.
Sarkar recounted,
“An old client came and when I went forward he said ‘are yeh sab ladki wadki mat dijiye’. Then a male colleague went with him. If I had objected then, it would have been the end,”
Sarkar highlighted additional barriers that female lawyers encounter, including a lack of mentorship, wage disparities, and biases within courtrooms.
She explained,
“There is a lack of mentoring and they often don’t have supportive seniors. Then there is an issue of structural payment. They are asked ‘kitna kama leti ho? Itna toh pocket money dedenge’. So this is another issue. Then comes courtroom bias. Judges have also many times not taken us seriously,”
She proposed that increased professional exposure could help mitigate these disparities.
Sarkar urged,
“Let women become amicus, arbitrators, government counsel. Collegium records must be maintained so that we know whether female candidates were considered or not,”
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