Supreme Court Designates Record 11 Women as Senior Advocates
NEW DELHI – In a historic move, the Supreme Court of India designated a record-breaking 11 women as senior advocates, adding to the total of 56 lawyers given this prestigious title. This marks a significant step towards promoting gender equality within the legal profession. Since the designation of the first woman senior advocate, Indu Malhotra, in 2007, only 13 women have received this honor.
The inclusion of these 11 women has brought the total number of women advocates designated as senior advocates by the Supreme Court to 18. Additionally, five retired women high court judges were also esteemed with the senior advocate designation, bringing the total count to 436 since 1966.
Led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, the full court of the Supreme Court took this decision to recognize the achievements of these exceptional lawyers. Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has long been an advocate for increasing women’s participation in all aspects of life.
The 11 women who were designated as senior advocates are Shobha Gupta, Swarupama Chaturvedi, Liz Mathews, Karuna Nundy, Nisha Bagchi, Uttara Babbar, Haripriya Padmanabhan, Archana Pathak Dave, N S Nappinai, S Janani, and Shirin Khajuria.
Among the women who had previously received this distinction are Meenakshi Arora, Kiran Suri, Vibha Datta Makhija, V Mohana, Mahalakshmi Pavani, Madhavi Divan, Menaka Guruswamy, Anitha Shenoy, Aparajita Singh, Aishwarya Bhati, Priya Hingorani, and Rachana Srivastava.
Notably, the selection committee, for the first time, included a woman member, Kiran Suri. The committee consisted of the Chief Justice of India, Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, and the attorney general, R Venkataramani.
In a significant departure from the usual process, the advocates’ academic work was evaluated by professors from national law universities. This assessment was included as a criterion for shortlisting applicants for the senior advocate designation.
Liz Mathews and Raghent Basant, a husband-wife advocate duo, were among those designated as senior advocates. Out of the 56 individuals designated on Friday, 30 are advocates-on-record, a special category of lawyers who have passed a rigorous written examination to qualify to file cases in the Supreme Court.
It is worth mentioning that the first woman to be designated as a senior advocate in India was Indira Jaising in 1986 by the Bombay High Court. Subsequently, the Supreme Court streamlined the process for conferring this prestigious designation in response to a petition filed by Indira Jaising.
This development is a significant milestone for women in the legal profession, signaling progress towards gender equality and recognizing the immense contribution of women advocates in India. It further strengthens the commitment to inclusivity and diversity within the legal system.
As the Supreme Court breaks barriers and paves the way for gender parity, it sets a remarkable precedent for the future and encourages more women to pursue careers in law. With a greater representation of women at the senior advocate level, the legal profession can aspire to be more equitable and just, providing a platform for the voices and talents of women to be heard and recognized.
