30% women quota in State Bar Councils non negotiable; shortfall should be bridged through co-option: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday reiterated that the mandate of reserving 30 percent seats for women in all State Bar Councils is non-negotiable, and directed that where the ongoing election process makes immediate implementation difficult, the shortfall will be made up through co-option [Yogamaya MG vs. Union of India & Ors.]..A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the Bar Council of India (BCI) must ensure that women advocates ultimately occupy at least 30 percent of the total seats in every State Bar Council across the country..The Court recorded the submission of BCI Chairman and Senior Advocate Manan Kumar Mishra that the Council has agreed in principle to reserve 30 percent of the seats for women members."Bar Council of India in its resolution gladly accepted the idea of 30% reservation for women. The Council resolved and informed the Supreme Court in its affidavit," Mishra told Bar & Bench. CJI Kant made it clear that the directive will have to be implemented in both letter and spirit.“There shall be no compromise on the issue that there shall be 30 percent reservation for women in all State Bar Councils,” he said.The Court clarified that the implementation will depend on the stage of the ongoing electoral process. Elections in Bihar and Chhattisgarh have already been completed, and those in four other States have been notified. In these cases, the Court said, it would not be prudent to alter the electoral process mid-way.However, for the remaining State Bar Councils, the Bench directed that women must receive 30 percent representation, 20 percent through direct election and 10 percent through co-option.“Co-option is a powerful mechanism,” the Bench observed, adding that a detailed proposal explaining how women advocates would be co-opted into the Councils must be placed before the Court..Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for one of the petitioners, pointed out that in certain States like Uttar Pradesh, the representation of women in the electoral rolls itself is extremely low, while in others like Maharashtra, the number of actively practicing women advocates is smaller.Responding to this concern, the Chief Justice said that representation must reflect those who are active in the profession.“Those who sit at home and are not the face of the profession should not [be included]; only practicing ones,” the Chief Justice remarked..The Court’s observations came while hearing petitions filed by advocates Yogamaya MG and Shehla Chaudhary seeking mandatory representation of women in the Bar Council of India and all State Bar Councils.In its earlier order dated December 4, the Court had directed that 30 percent of the seats in each State Bar Council be reserved for women and made it clear that the existing rules under the Advocates Act, 1961, would be construed as amended to that effect. It also extended the directive to posts of office bearers.The petitions have highlighted the gross underrepresentation of women in Bar Council governance. Data published by Bar and Bench was placed before the Court which showed that out of 441 elected representatives across 18 State Bar Councils, only nine are women - a mere 2.04 percent. The Bar Council of India, since its inception in 1961, has not had a single woman member.During the earlier hearing, the Court had said that the measure was in keeping with the “constitutional ethos and the country’s legislative push towards gender equality,” and directed the BCI to furnish details of compliance by December 8..Today, the Bench reiterated that the BCI’s responsibility does not end with reservation on paper. It must also ensure that women are effectively included through the mechanism of co-option wherever elections have already been completed or notified..The BCI is expected to place its proposal outlining the implementation of co-option across all State Bar Councils on the next date of hearing. Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta and advocates Sriram Parakkat, and Deepak Prakash appeared for lead petitioner Yogamaya MG..Advocate Charu Mathur appeared for petitioner Shehla Chaudhary. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.