Don’t you think there are enough men? When Justice Gita Mittal questioned collegium over lack of women judges

Former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal on Sunday candidly spoke about the challenges women continue to face while entering and advancing within the judiciary..Recalling how she once questioned the absence of women names during a Delhi High Collegium discussion on judicial appointments, she said,“There was a time when 7 judges were appointed by the collegium. Once they were all discussing. I said at the end, 'but no woman judges'. One of the collegium members said 'how many of you are there - 6 out of 35 in the Delhi High Court'. He said 'don’t you think there are enough?' I questioned back - 'don’t you think there are enough men?' Silence.".Mittal also pointed to how structural issues can affect the careers of women in the judicial service. She recalled an instance where a district judge’s Annual Confidential Report (ACR) was downgraded because she had taken leave.“A district judge ACR was lowered because she was on leave. First, she was on pregnancy leave and second, was when her mother-in-law was not well. Her husband was a judge as well, but he did not take the leave. So these are the issues you see,” she said..According to Mittal, the process of judicial appointments should also allow candidates an opportunity to respond to adverse inputs received during background checks..The former judge was speaking at a session titled Half the Nation, Half the Bench: The Way Forward at the Indian Women in Law (IWiL) conference. The session focused on improving representation of women in the higher judiciary.The panel also featured Justice Shampa Sarkar of the Calcutta High Court, Supreme Court Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Venkata Jyothirmai Pratapa of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The discussion was moderated by Senior Advocates Karuna Nundy and Uttara Babbar..Justice Sarkar spoke about the difficulties faced by women lawyers during the early years of practice, particularly in gaining access to high profile work.“The issue is not merit. There is subtle gender discrimination. Client is not interested to give woman lawyers a chance in high profile cases,” she said..She recounted an experience from her time as a young lawyer in a senior’s chamber.“An old client came and when I went forward he said ‘are yeh sab ladki wadki mat dijiye’. Then a man colleague went with him. If I had objected then, it would have been the end,” Sarkar said.Sarkar added that women lawyers also face other barriers such as lack of mentorship, pay disparities and attitudes within courtrooms.“There is lack of mentoring and they don't get good seniors. Then there is an issue of structural payment. They are asked ‘kitna kama leti ho? Itna toh pocket money dedenge’. So this is another issue. Then comes courtroom bias. Judges have also many times not taken us seriously,” she said.She suggested that greater professional exposure could help address the imbalance.“Let women become amicus, arbitrators, government counsel. Collegium record must be maintained so that we know if woman candidates were considered or not,” Sarkar said..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.