At the outset, Singh said the PIL has
been filed following the survey conducted by the SCBA on status and
representation of women lawyers in the legal profession.
"They needed to be included in government
panels," the senior lawyer said.
The CJI said on Tuesday some representatives of a
Telangana bar body met him and he was pleasantly surprised to know that a woman
lawyer has been appointed secretary there.
"She was thanking me. I enquired about the
total strength of the Bar .. it is 19,000. Around 8,000 (advocates) come
regularly, out of which 2,000 are women. Now only one woman member is
appointed," the CJI said.
Singh said the SCBA also proposes to file a separate
PIL keeping in mind difficulties being faced by women lawyers.
The plea refers to startling empirical evidence to
say that while women are entering law schools in record numbers, they are
systematically blocked from professional advancement.
"Ladli Foundation Trust is filing the present
PIL under Article 32 of the Constitution seeking issuance of an appropriate
writ, order or direction for a minimum of 30 percent reservation/representation
for women advocates in all governmental panels, including but not limited to
the Supreme Court panels, high court panels, government law officer positions,
legal aid panels and all Central and State Government/PSU empanelments, so as
to secure effective enforcement of the fundamental rights guaranteed under
Articles 14, 15(3), 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution," the plea said.
Citing the India Justice Report of 2022 and the SCBA
survey, the plea said in over 75 years of independence, no woman has ever been
appointed as Attorney General or Solicitor General of India.
"In the 35 years since Justice M Fathima Beevi
became the first woman judge of the Supreme Court in 1989, only 11 women have
ever been elevated to the Supreme Court of India. Presently, women constitute
approximately 5.88% of judges in the Supreme Court and about 13.76% of judges
in the high courts, despite forming a much larger proportion of entry-level
legal professionals," it said.
The systemic exclusion of women from these panels is
not merely an issue of professional inequity but a significant constitutional
lapse that impedes the realisation of substantive equality, it said.
Government legal panels and law officer appointments
constitute a critical component of the state's legal representation before
constitutional courts, tribunals and other judicial fora across the country, it
said.
"These positions significantly influence the
development of public law, constitutional interpretation, and the defence of
governmental policies affecting millions of citizens. The process of
empanelment to such positions is therefore expected to reflect the
constitutional mandate of equality, fairness and inclusivity," it said.
The Constitution is founded upon the principles of
equality, justice and inclusive participation in public life, it said, adding
while women increasingly enter law schools and the legal profession in
significant numbers, their representation declines sharply in positions of professional
authority.