Supreme Court seeks detailed report from Madras High Court on status of women's toilets in Nilgiris court complex

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a detailed report from the Registrar General of the Madras High Court on the toilet facilities provided for women lawyers in the new combined court complex building in Udhagamandalam (Ooty). .A vacation bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Rajesh Bindal said that the previous report by the Registrar General did not explain in detail about the current facilities available to women lawyers and whether there was any reduction/ shrinkage in such facilities. "Let a detailed report be filed by the High Court administration through the registrar general. Such report should reach registry of this court by Sunday through electronic mode and this matter shall be listed on June 12, Monday", the Bench thus ordered. .The Court added that it would consider passing appropriate orders after going through this report. The Court was hearing a plea by the Women Lawyers Association of Nilgiris alleging shrinkage of facilities for women in the new court complexDuring the hearing, the Bench took into account the main demand of the women lawyers regarding the reduction in space of facilities allocated to them. In this regard, the bench also referred to a Bar & Bench report on the plight of the women lawyers who have been fighting for a toilet in the court complex for nearly three decades. "As reported in an online news portal on June 6, 2023, complaints were raised on behalf of certain women lawyers demanding basic facilities in the same court complex and it appears that their main concern is over shrinking of the space or facilities allocated to them in the new court complex," the Court noted in its order. Subsequently, the registry of the apex court brought to its notice the report of the Registrar General of Madras High Court, the Court said."The report of the registrar general does not explain in detail about the facilities for women lawyers in the new court complex and as to whether there was any shrinkage of such facilities which was earlier available," the bench stated while proceeding to seek a fresh report.The Nilgiris District Bar Association (NDBA) opposed the plea by the women lawyers and sought impleadment in the matter."A few disgruntled members (women lawyers) are bringing disrepute. Please send a team from the High Court to inspect. This is bringing disrepute to the entire Nilgiris District Bar association," Senior Counsel V Mohana submitted ion behalf of the NDBA.The bench allowed the NDBA to assist the Court..These women lawyers of Nilgiris have been demanding toilet in court complex for 25 years.Previously, on April 29, a Bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha had disposed of the association's petition, taking note of the submission made by Senior Advocate Guru Krishnakumar on behalf of the Madras High Court that necessary steps have been taken..The apex court had given liberty to the Association to approach the district judge or the Registrar General of the High Court for redressal of any subsisting grievances.The affected women, however, said that the toilet cubicles since allotted are unusable, being "so tiny" that one cannot walk in straight and come out without having to squeeze oneself. .The National Commission for Women (NCW) also wrote a letter to the Registrar General of the High Court in this regard. NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma stated that a separate and fully functional toilet facility for women lawyers was not only a matter of gender equality and dignity, but also an essential step towards creating an inclusive and conducive environment for all legal professionals..Advocates Vivekanandha and Vinod Kumar Tewari appeared for the petitioner.Senior Advocate Guru Krishnakumar and advocates Deepayan Mandal, Mridul Bansal and Naman Varma appeared for Madras High Court.Senior Advocate V Mohana, and advocates B Raghunath, Sriram Parakkat and NC Kavitha appeared for the intervenor. .[Read Order].[Read our live-coverage of the hearing below]