Context: Recently, Chief Justice of India promised to take up the demand for more women judges with the Supreme Court Collegium.

• The collegium has recommended 68 names for appointment in total across 12 high courts.

Current Scenario of women in judiciary in India

• The Supreme Court currently has the highest number of women judges.
• Out of the sanctioned strength of 34 judges, the Supreme Court has four women judges.
• Out of 677 sitting judges in both the Supreme Court and high courts, only 81 are women.
• This makes the representation of women judges in the total working strength to 12%.
• Among the 25 high courts, only Madras high court has women judges in double digits.
• Out of the working strength of 58 judges, the Madras HC has 13 women, which is more than 22% representation.
• High courts of Manipur, Meghalaya, Bihar, Tripura and Uttarakhand do not have even a single woman judge.
• The sanctioned strength of judges across 25 high courts in India is 1,098.
• 465 posts were vacant as of September 1.

Impact of having women in Judiciary

• Women judges enhance the legitimacy of courts.
• They contribute far more to justice than improving its appearance: they also contribute significantly to the quality of decision-making.
• They bring those lived experiences to their judicial actions, that tend toward a more comprehensive and empathetic perspective.
• Adjudication is enhanced by preventing ill-considered or improper decisions, by elucidating how laws and rulings can be based on gender stereotypes etc.

Key Suggestions
Gender-Neutral Parenting

• There is need to change the patriarchal mindsets of Indian society.
• There is need to promote gender-neutral parenting so that future generations free themselves from the bonds of patriarchy.

Overhauling the Judicial Selection Procedure

• There is a need for the reformation of the judicial selection procedure and ensure fair representation of women in the Indian Judiciary.
• A more diverse judiciary would increase public confidence and instil greater support from its citizens.

Reservation Quota for Women

• There must be a minimum 33% reservation quota for women in the judiciary.
• It will ensure equal representation of women and also provide a fair opportunity to reach higher levels in the profession.