All-Female Full Bench hears cases at Kerala High Court on International Women's Day 2022

On International Women's Day, a full bench of the Kerala High Court, comprising only of female judges, was constituted to hear a batch of petitions. .The Bench of Justices Anu Sivaraman, Shircy V and MR Anitha heard several petitions filed by the State government to review the Court's previous judgement which held that the the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee cannot donate temple money to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief or any other government agencies..This may be the first time that an all-female full bench has been constituted at the Kerala High Court, which has seen some of the female stalwarts of the Indian Judiciary.Justice Anna Chandy was India's first female judge and first High Court Judge. She was sworn in as a judge of the High Court of Kerala on February 9, 1959 and held office upto April 5, 1967, for over eight years.Justice Fathima Beevi was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India. The first woman to get a Bar Council gold medal, she was appointed as a musiff in the Kerala Subordinate Judicial Services in 1958, then a District and Sessions Judge, a Judicial Member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and a judge of the High Court in 1983. In 1989, she made history by becoming the first woman to be elevated to the Supreme Court..With the elevation of Justice Sophy Thomas and CS Sudha in October 2021, the Kerala High Court currently has a total of 6 female judges out of a total 39 judges. This the highest number of sitting female judges that the High Court has ever had.However, this is a mere 6.5% representation in a State which has consistently boasted of an over 50% female population in sharp contrast to the sex-ratio found in most other Indian States. Speaking at the induction of the judges in October, Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup K was quick to point out that six female judges cannot be said to be reflective of the demographic proportion of the State. "In a State where female infanticide is absent, where enrolment of girls in schools and colleges is near to total, if not total, and where women substantially find representation in public employment and that too in many instances outnumbering men, the fact that there are only six women judges in the High Court with only one among their ladyships directly elevated from the Bar, is definitely a matter for thought, if not of concern," Kurup had said. .Chief Justice of India NV Ramana has also advocated for higher representation of women in the judiciary."Enough of suppression of thousands of years. It is high time we have 50% representation of women in judiciary. It is your right. It is not a matter of charity", the CJI said while speaking at an event last September.