t h e su nday gua r dia n

0 5 – 11 m a rch 2 0 2 3
new de l h i being woman 15
uphill task

Raising the Bench For Equality

Cambridge in order to pro-
vide financial aid to Indian
students in order to encour-
age their pursuit for higher
education.
B.V. Nagarathna had joined
the Bar in 1987 and had set
herself on the path of being
the first female Chief Jus-
tice of India for the year of
2027. She was appointed to
the Karnataka High Court
in 2008 and was elevated to
the Supreme Court in 2021.
neeha nagpal In 2009, when she was being
detained by the protesting

W
hen Leila Seth lawyers, she rose as the rep-
wished to join resentative of the ‘not to be
the bar and ap- cowed down’ judiciary of In-
proached a senior, she was dia and truly represented the
asked to fulfill her tradi- persisting and persevering
tional role first. ‘Go and get spirit of law. She remained
married’ said the senior to the champion of women’s
Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud Justice Leila Seth Justice B.V. Nagarathna
Mrs. Seth. Then she was rights as a member of the
told to have a child and to lawyer is not capable of the advocate in 2007 by the Su- Bench as she ordered the
have another child so that tough legal work’. But her preme Court was the 1988 establishment of helplines to
the first child doesn’t feel hard-work and persistence topper of the Advocate-on- report domestic violence in-
alone. Mrs. Seth, a mother led to her being the first record examination, Indu cidents during the pandemic.
of two at the time, duly in- female advocate to be des- Malhotra. Indu Malhotra, She has also participated for
formed him of her family. ignated as the Senior Advo- with her expertise in arbi- reform of workplace as she
The senior finally relented cate by the Supreme Court tration law, had continued to oversaw the installation of
and said ‘Come and join my in 1977. She became the first reform the legal field as the creche and sanitary pad
chambers. You’re a persis- female judge of the Delhi first female to be elevated vending machines in the ju-
tent young woman, and you High Court in 1978 and fol- as the judge of the Supreme dicial complexes.
will do well at the Bar.’ lowed it up with being the Court directly form the Bar. The Chief Justice of India
Though ever y young first woman Chief Justice of She stood in concurrence recently remarked that a di-
lawyer perseveres in this a State High Court. to recognize the right to love verse judiciary in future can
laborious profession, the She became a contender for the LGBTQ+ community only be result of a diverse
women require an extra of the inheritance rights of in the case of Navtej Singh Bar in the present. With the
good deal of persistence to the daughters over ancestral Johar v. Union of India as aforementioned and several
establish themselves. This property recognizing the she expanded the funda- others as the trailblazers in
notion was also echoed by importance of financial in- mental right under Article the practice of law, we can
the Chief Justice of India, dependence for women. A 15 in favour of the LGBTQ+ only hope that this inspires
Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud who cause that she contributed community to include pro- the younger generation to
called the legal profession a towards as the member of hibition against sexual ori- diversify the Bar for the fu-
gentlemen’s club where the the 15th Law Commission entation. ture Bench of the judiciary
entry itself for women law- of India to suggest amend- A graduate of the Campus at several levels. As Justice
yers remain an uphill task. ments for the succession Law Centre, Delhi Univer- Justice Indu Malhotra Justice Hima Kohli Ginsburg once said, if nine
However, some women not laws. She was also part of the sity, Justice Hima Kohli was hit India, she proceeded to the Supreme Court in Au- representing the petition- ers. Justice Singh held such a men can sit on the bench
only entered the legal field, three member Justice Verma elevated to the Bench of the head the judicial committee gust 2021. Justice Prathiba ers against WhatsApp for discrimination to be uncon- of the Supreme Court of
but persisted until they got Commission that suggested Delhi High Court on 2006. monitoring the response of M. Singh, a doyen of the removal of user information stitutional under Article 14 the United States then nine
their seat at the Bench. a reform of criminal laws As part of the Bench, she the Delhi Government to intellectual property law, after deletion of the app. and also violative of the right women can also have the
Justice Leila Seth joined after the Nirbhaya case. She contributed towards the the COVID-19 pandemic. has contributed immensely She continues to reform the to avail health insurance un- right to adorn the Bench of
the Bar in 1959 after top- also remained in support right to privacy for the ju- She ensured that the facili- towards reforming the in- law as a member of the Bench der Article 21. the Supreme Court. Hope-
ping the London Bar exam. of her son, the acclaimed veniles accused of crime by ties of testing and medical tellectual property law in of Delhi High Court since However, her contribu- fully in the future the Su-
She began her practice in writer, Vikram Seth, and his holding that the identity of aid remained available to India by aiding the consul- 2017. In the case of United In- tions are not merely limited preme Court of India may
Patna and unlike other law- battle to gain recognition for such juveniles must be pro- the public. tations with the Parliamen- dia Insurance Company Ltd. to the jurisdiction of Delhi also be adorned by 33 fe-
yers in the male-dominated the right to love for the LG- tected. She became the first female tary Panels and Committees v. Jai Prakash Tayal, she held High Court; in 2013, she male judges and not merely
field, she had to work twice BTQ+ community in India. It was during her tenure Chief Justice of the Telanga- as an Advocate. She had against the discrimination established the Prathiba a handful.
as hard to dismantle the The second female to be at the Delhi High Court na High Court in 2021 until also actively advocated for towards genetic disorders by Singh Scholarship for LLM The writer is Partner, NM Law
perception that ‘a woman designated as the senior that COVID-19 pandemic her elevation as the judge of the right to privacy while the health insurance provid- students at the University of Chambers

gender bias

Women and the law

Women belong
in all places
where decisions
are being made.
It should not be
that women are
the exception.

- Late Justice
Ruth Bader
geeta luthra Ginsburg of
Judiciary plays a pivotal Justice Ruth Ginsburg Justice Hima Kohli Justice Anna Chandy Justice Fathima Beevi Justice Ruma Pal Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud the Supreme
role in shaping the mind- or “inferior” sex. However, Chandy to Kerala High in the filed of human rights. ing the most power, status, ation Conference expressed women’s rights, and the Court of the
set of the society. Time and despite of the substantial Court. Justice Anna Chandy We must appreciate and and job security. As a con- the need of a better frame- progress we have made as United States
again, it has taken steps progress, the disparity and had started her career as an cherish the uphill battle, sequence, female lawyers work to have more diverse women and as lawyers.
to reduce the gender bias difficulty which the women Advocate in 1929 and had diligence and dedication of often face a double standard and inclusive profession to- It is apposite to mention legal profession. This glass
across the spectrum and face in today’s legal profes- been appointed a Munsiff the women in the legal fra- and a double bind. They risk day as the judges who come that despite of graduating ceiling acts as a barrier for
in every working space in- sion still continues. in 1937 thus, becoming the ternity who started their appearing too “soft” or too to High Court or Supreme from leading law schools the women in obtaining
cluding board rooms. In or- It is by characterizing the first Woman Judge in the practice way back in 1960s “strident”, too aggressive or Court in 2023 reflect the all over the world like Ivy top positions in the corpo-
der to fill up the legislative legal profession as male pre-independent India. and early 1980s for paving not aggressive enough and state of bar at the beginning League Universities, Ox- rate sector and less access
vacuum, the Courts have dominating that we de- These two decades also the way for present repre- what appears assertive in a of millennium when wom- ford, Cambridge, etc., and to prime assignments then
come forward and ensured scribe scenarios to explain saw the entry into the legal sentation of women judges, man often appears abrasive en certainly were did not working in different roles their male counterparts.
a healthy environment at how power, in terms of gen- profession of two eminent lawyers and jurists. How- in a woman. have equal opportunities. at various organizations as The motivation for women
the workplace for women der and institutional disci- lawyers who went on to be- ever, even after 75 years of Recently, Justice Hima It is, therefore imperative that of their male counter- lawyers to participate in the
as in the case of Vishaka & pline, constructs law and come Hon’ble Justice Leila independence, the Indian Kohli of the Supreme Court to create a better level play- parts, it is unfortunate that legal field probably remains
Ors. v. State of Rajasthan, legal professionalism. His- Seth and Hon’ble Justice Fa- judiciary paints a tainted of India spoke on ‘Inclusion ing field now to truly have the same does not translate problematic because they
and in the case of Air India torically, entering the legal thima Beevi, Chief Justices picture when it comes to and Empowerment’. She more diverse and inclusive to an equal representation are influenced by the power
v. Nargesh Meerza, wherein field was a long way fare for of Himachal Pradesh and equal representation of described the legal profes- judiciary in future. either at workplace or later of the gender stereotype.
the Apex Court held that the women since for centuries Kerala High Courts respec- women in the benches and sion as an “Old Boy’s Club” At the global level, re- at higher positions and as Drawing on the mundane
notice for termination on they stood merely as specta- tively. The former had been the struggle to get the first given the abject lack of rep- nowned Late Justice Ruth such a successful career details of the experiences of
the grounds of pregnancy tors before the “procession actively practicing advocate woman Chief Justice of In- resentation of women in Bader Ginsburg has contrib- at a law firm remains an women legal aspirants, the
is violative of Article 14 of of educated men”. However, in Delhi, Kolkata and Patna dia still continues. the legal profession. It is no uted immensely to eradicate uphill endeavour. In spite proposition is to build sim-
the Constitution of India. with increasing influence High Courts for more than A widespread assump- more a secret that women disparity in terms of gender of their competence, hard- ple legal infrastructure, hy-
In terms of gender equality, and structuring broader op- 15 years and the latter had tion is that barriers have in the field of law not only in the legal profession. She work and struggle, women gienic toilets/washrooms,
a change of mind set came portunities, women are free risen from the position of a been coming down and get less work and paid less went to law school at a time lawyers are not recognized creches, sexual harassment
through when the Apex not only to join this proces- Munsiff and had retired as a women have been moving as compared to their male when women represented and as such the designation committees for making the
Court, in Joseph Shine vs. sion but also to rethink its Supreme Court Judge even- up, and it is only a matter of counterparts, but also get less than 3 percent of all of senior women lawyers is opportunities realistic and
Union of India, inter alia direction and the terms on tually. Justice (Retd.) Ruma time before full equality be- fewer opportunities to be- lawyers in the country and disproportionately low. Go- to employ “gender fluid-
struck down Section 497 of which they will participate. Pal, is another well known comes an accomplished fact. come partners in law firms got admitted to Harvard ing by the available figures, ity”, which recognizes the
the Code of Criminal Proce- The Indian Judiciary was face of the Indian Judiciary However, if truth be told for or empanelled in the corpo- Law School in 1956 as one of women account for 7% of possibility of multiple gen-
dure, 1973, which criminal- active in its encouragement having served the Supreme women in the legal profes- rate or government sectors. only nine women in a class judges in 25 High Courts der roles occurring among
ized adultery, as the same of women who took up the Court for 6 years as well as sion, progress has been dra- The Chief Justice of India, of about 500 men. The de- and it is due the prevalent varied social contexts, and
considered a woman to be legal profession and went on the Calcutta High Court. matic and they still remain D. Y. Chandrachud, during parture of Justice Ginsburg gender bias and patriarch further re-characterizes
the property of a man and to appoint the first woman She deliberated in several significantly underrepre- his recent keynote address from the legal landscape mindset which stop women the so-called masculine le-
thus, being of a “weaker” Judge Hon’ble Justice Anna pertinent issues, especially sented in positions carry- at the American Bar Associ- highlights the fragility of from getting the ‘silk’ of the gal culture.