In a separate case, the Supreme Court issued a notice concerning a plea that seeks a similar 33% reservation for women in Bengaluru bar associations, similar to the DHCBA model.
New Delhi: On Wednesday, the supreme court directed the Delhi Sales Tax Bar Association and the Delhi Tax Bar Association to reserve the treasurer’s post and 30% of seats in their executive committees for women lawyers.
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A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan emphasized that these associations must follow the court’s previous directives applied to the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) and district bar associations.
Previous Directives
On December 18, 2023: The court ordered that three posts in the DHCBA elections, including the treasurer’s position, be reserved for women. Additionally, in district bar association elections, 30% of executive committee posts, including the treasurer’s, were to be reserved for women lawyers.
Similarly, On September 26, 2023: The DHCBA was instructed to reserve the treasurer’s position exclusively for women.
The court also said, “The general body of the bar association shall consider to reserve the post of the treasurer exclusively for the women members of the bar association.” Furthermore, it suggested, “In addition to reserving the post of treasurer for women members, the general body should also be free to consider the desirability of reserving one more post of the office-bearer for women members of the bar association.” Out of ten executive committee members, at least three were to be women, with one being a senior designated advocate.
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Further On May 2, 2023: To enhance women’s representation, the court mandated 33% reservation for women in the executive committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).
In a separate case, the Supreme Court issued a notice concerning a plea that seeks a similar 33% reservation for women in Bengaluru bar associations, similar to the DHCBA model.
Earlier this month, on January 20, the court directed the to ensure that 33% of its executive committee seats are reserved for women.
The Supreme Court has consistently emphasized the need for increasing women’s representation in the legal profession.
The bench highlighted, “Similarly, out of the 10 executive members, there shall be at least three women members. The general body may also resolve that out of the three women members of the executive committee, one at least will be a senior designated advocate.”
