Just 17 of the 37 women candidates recommended by a Supreme Court collegium have been appointed as high court judges, while the other cases are still pending with the government, said N.V. Ramana, chief justice of India. Reports the Khaleej Times
“For the high courts, we have recommended 192 candidates,” he said. “Out of these, 37, that is 19 per cent, were women. This is certainly an improvement over the percentage of incumbent women judges in high courts, which stands at 11.8 per cent. Unfortunately, so far only 17 of the 37 women recommended to high courts were appointed.”
Ramana was addressing an online event to mark the first-ever ‘International Day of Women Judges’.
The top judge of the apex court called for reservation for girls in legal education. “I am a strong proponent of affirmative action,” he said. “To enrich the pool of talent, I strongly propose reservation for girls in legal education. The data proves such a provision has yielded encouraging results in appointing women judicial officers at the district level.”
According to him, the legal profession still remains male dominated, with severe under-representation of women. He said he is “wholly conscious of the systemic prejudices women have been facing, particularly in Indian society.”
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