The Supreme Court of India sought replies on a PIL demanding 30% reservation for women lawyers in government legal panels. The plea stated, “The systemic exclusion of women from these panels is not merely an issue of professional inequity but a constitutional lapse that impedes the realisation of substantive equality,”.
The Supreme Court asked the Centre, all states, and Union Territories to respond to a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking 30% reservation for women lawyers in government legal panels and law officer appointments.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi issued notices to the Centre and other respondents on the petition filed by Ladli Foundation Trust.
The court took note of submissions by senior advocate Vikas Singh, who said the plea is supported by findings of a survey conducted by the Supreme Court Bar Association on the status and representation of women lawyers in the legal profession.
The petition seeks directions for the Centre, state governments, and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to implement a minimum 30% quota for women at all levels of the legal system from panels of the Supreme Court and high courts to legal aid authorities and government law officer roles.
During the hearing, the CJI referred to a recent interaction with representatives of a Telangana bar association and said he was surprised to learn that only one woman had been appointed secretary despite a large number of women advocates.
The CJI observed,
“She was thanking me. I asked about the total strength of the Bar. It is 19,000. Around 8,000 advocates practise regularly, out of which 2,000 are women. Yet only one woman member has been appointed,”
Singh told the court that women lawyers require greater representation in government legal panels. He further stated that the SCBA was considering filing a separate PIL addressing the challenges faced by women in the profession.
The petition argued that while women are entering law schools in record numbers, they continue to encounter systemic obstacles that affect their professional growth and advancement.
It relied on the India Justice Report 2022 and the SCBA survey to contend that in over 75 years of Independence, no woman has been appointed Attorney General or Solicitor General of India.
The petition also pointed out that since Justice M Fathima Beevi became the first woman judge of the Supreme Court in 1989, only 11 women have been elevated to the apex court.
According to the petition, women currently make up about 5.88% of judges in the Supreme Court and 13.76% in high courts, despite representing a much larger share of entry-level legal professionals.
The plea said,
“The systemic exclusion of women from these panels is not merely an issue of professional inequity but a constitutional lapse that impedes the realisation of substantive equality,”
Filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, the petition requested directions to frame and notify uniform guidelines for empanelment of advocates to government legal panels, with at least 30% representation for women.
It also asked for a review and modification of existing empanelment policies of ministries, departments, statutory authorities, and PSUs to ensure gender-inclusive representation.
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The petition argued that government legal panels and law officer appointments are crucial to constitutional interpretation, the development of public law, and the defence of government policies in courts and tribunals.
It said,
“The process of empanelment to such positions is expected to reflect the constitutional mandate of equality, fairness and inclusivity,”
The petition further stated that out of nearly 1.54 million advocates enrolled nationwide, only about 284,507 are women around 15.31% of the legal workforce.
Besides all states and Union Territories, the Ministry of Law and Justice and the Department of Public Enterprises have also been included as respondents in the case.