Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Saturday questioned the gender diversity record of judges' appointments made to the top court during the tenure of former Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud. .He pointed out that none of the fourteen judges appointed during that period were women.“During the tenure of the CJI when I made it to this Court, fourteen appointments were made to the Supreme Court. None were women,” Justice Bhuyan said.Justice Bhuyan made the remarks during Session III of the Indian Women in Law (IWiL) conference held at the Supreme Court. The session, titled 'Inclusive Benches – Stronger Justice', examined judicial diversity as a constitutional imperative rather than a concession..Justice Bhuyan was elevated to the Supreme Court in July 2023 when Justice Chandrachud was heading the Collegium..He also questioned Justice Chandrachud’s opinion that the increasing number of women entering the district judiciary would eventually translate into greater representation of women in High Courts and the Supreme Court.According to Justice Bhuyan, the figures do not support that assumption..He pointed out that the majority of High Court appointments are made from the Bar, while a smaller proportion come from the district judiciary. As a result, the growing presence of women in the district judiciary does not automatically lead to greater representation of women in the higher judiciary.Justice Bhuyan also noted that women tend to perform well in competitive judicial service examinations where the selection process is objective. However, their representation drops significantly when appointments depend on recommendations and Collegium decisions..Madras High Court Justice Anita Sumanth also spoke about the limitations of relying solely on the gradual increase in women entering the judicial services. She said that the Madras High Court currently has ten women judges out of sixty and that the court may be relatively better placed than several other High Courts. However, she cautioned against assuming that incremental growth in the district judiciary will automatically translate into greater representation in higher courts. “If we wait for incremental growth without deliberate design, you will only see a rinse and repeat mechanism,” she said..Former Supreme Court judge Justice Hima Kohli, who was also part of the panel, echoed concerns about the absence of women in recent Supreme Court appointments.“Important to talk the talk and walk the walk. I am glad that there were some right people in the Collegium when we three were made Supreme Court judges. What happened after that? Almost 34 appointments were made. Not a single woman. What is the message are we sending on the credibility of woman. I hope that is remedied sooner or later,” Justice Kohli said..Justice Kohli was referring to the appointments made after August 2021, when she, Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Bela M Trivedi were elevated to the Supreme Court..Saturday’s panel discussion also featured Supreme Court Justice N Kotiswar Singh, and Acting Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai.The session was moderated by Senior Advocates Anitha Shenoy and NS Nappinai..[Read Live Coverage].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.
