SC orders 30 pc seats for women advocates in state Bar councils
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said that for this year, state Bar councils where elections are yet to be held should fill 20 per cent of the seats with women candidates and 10 per cent by joint election if there are not many lawyers willing to contest.
The top court directed the court to submit a joint election proposal for state bar councils where the number of female lawyers participating in the case is insufficient.
At the outset, senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, who is also the president of the Bar Council of India (BCI), informed the bench that as per the court’s earlier direction, the selection process has started in six Bar bodies with the notification of the poll.
He stated that the BCI is of the view that in principle there should be at least 30 per cent female reserves in state bar councils and suggested that the councils should be allowed to fill the positions by electing female candidates for this year.
It also suggested that 15 percent of the seats be filled through co-election of women members.
However, the panel said it would be appropriate to limit joint election to only 10 per cent seats. The bench said it would not be prudent to reserve seats for women in Bar councils where the election process has already begun.
In the Bar Councils of Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, where the elections were announced, it was stated that the women members participating in the polls will compete with full spirit and the voters will also make efforts to ensure adequate representation of women lawyers in the councils.
He made a similar appeal to the voters of Bihar and Chhattisgarh Bar Councils where the elections were announced.
For the remaining Bar Councils, the panel said 30 percent of the seats will be represented by women lawyers, 20 percent of which will be by election and 10 percent by joint election.
“In cases where women members of the Bar are reluctant to come forward and contest for 20 per cent seats, a joint election process will be conducted in such Bar councils so that eventually women will have 30 per cent representation in the executive council,” the statement said.
The top court was hearing the pleas of lawyers Yogamaya MG and Shehla Chaudhary demanding that one-third of the seats in all state Bar councils be reserved for women.
Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, said that a blanket decision to have 30 per cent women in all state bar councils may not be practical as the proportion of women advocates practicing in many states is very low.
On December 4, the high court asked the BCI to provide 30 per cent reservation for women in the upcoming state Bar elections.
In the defense submitted by Yogamaya and Chaudhary, it was also requested that at least one position be reserved for female lawyers on a rotating basis.
The defenses were made based on the decision of the Supreme Court dated May 2, 2024, which ordered that one-third of the seats in the Executive Board of the Supreme Court Bar Association be reserved for women, including one civil servant position.
