Women Judges Bring A Unique Gender Perspective To Adjudication : Justice Hima Kohli

On Thursday, the Supreme Court commemorated the first ever 'International Day of Women Judges'. The event was organised by the Supreme Court Registry and graced by the presence of CJI, N.V. Ramana, Justices Hima Kohli, B.V. Nagarathna, Indira banerjee and Bela M. Trivedi. As pointed out by CJI Ramana during the course of the event, the panel was joined by almost 6000 judicial officers across the country.

It celebrated and promoted the idea of full and equal participation of women at all levels of judiciary. The panel addressed the importance of women representation and how women judges enhance the quality of the dispensation of justice in the country.

While delivering the vote of thanks speech, at the outset Justices Hima Kohli welcomed all to the celebration, which encouraged diversity at the Bench and the entry of women judges into a largely male dominated institution. The intent behind the event she thought was itself a step in the right direction.

She stated that ideally the judiciary should be represented by both men and women, equally. But the reality even after 75 years of independence is that the representation is still abysmally low - 4 judges out of 32 judges of the Supreme Court; 83 out of 680 of the High Court and 30% of the subordinate judiciary are women.

"In an ideal situation women ought to be represented in equal numbers in the judiciary just as men. The reality is that even after India has completed 75 years of independence, it is for the first time that there are four women out of 32 judges in the SC, 83 women judges out of 680 judges in HC and about 30% of the women judicial officers of the sub-ordinate courts."

Addressing how women judges enhance the justice delivery system, Justice Kohli emphasised that with more women representation in the Courts, rule of law would be validated. Visibility of women judges encourages budding women lawyers to excel in their profession. It also encourages women in the profession to shatter all stereotypes.

"Women judges give an impetus to budding women lawyers to excel in their career and aspire for judicial posts and achieve excellence in the legal profession. They shatter the stereotype that women are not fit to adorn the bench as they are quick to react to situations emotionally…"

She noted that women judges by bringing in a new perspective immensely contribute to the decision making process and ultimately facilitate in improving the quality of the justice delivery system.

They contribute significantly to the texture of decision making and thereby uplift the quality of justice."

She also highlighted that being a nurturer, women at the Bench bring in their real life experiences to the Court to provide a unique perspective.

"As caregivers and multitaskers at home women bring onto the Bench real life experiences which bestow a unique gender perspective to adjudication and sanctify judicial action on the touchstone of legal principles."

Justice Kohli stated that women being more inclusive, more perceptive, more encouraging and fair minded influence critical thinking in all spheres of life. She was of the opinion that larger representation of women at the Bench also encourages more women litigants to approach the Court.

She succinctly addressed the importance of imbibing the importance of women representation from an early age. She encouraged teaching students about successful female professionals - legal practitioners, Judges, CEOs, activists, authors, artists, scientist, technocrats, innovators and entrepreneurs.

Pointing out several constraints that a woman judge has to face she noted that sometimes judicial officers enter the profession late due to familial commitments; sometimes they have to leave midway due to family obligations and motherhood. She congratulated the judicial officers in the audience for making it, inspite of these very real constraints. She further added -

"Coming closer home it must be acknowledged that each one of you women judges are achievers irrespective of your geographical; social, cultural; and religious moorings. Your presence in the judiciary brings with it transparency and inclusiveness. Wherever you are discharging your duties you send a powerful message across the country that courts at all levels are approachable and are willing to dispense justice with an even hand without discriminating on the basis of caste, colour creed, gender, religion or wealth. Women judges validate the judicial system and their inclusion in large numbers is a palpable realisation of the constitutional codes."

Acknowledging the role played by CJI Ramana in bringing about a revolution by deciding to elevate three female judges to the Supreme Court in August, 2021 along with the other members of the collegium, Justice Kohli stated that self critique is the best method of improvement and CJI had been at the forefront of the judicial introspection. She pointed out that the CJI had openly discussed the issue of poor representation of women in the judiciary and the requirement to move away from token representationalism, at several forums.

At the fag end of her speech, Justice Kohli noted that all the four women judges at the Supreme Court come from different regions of the country; have different upbringing; diverse backgrounds; different career graphs, yet they share a bond, which is often referred to as 'that women thing'. She wished to describe 'that women thing' as a connection forged by shared experience; facing common situations for being a woman in the profession, which she felt makes the experience relatable and therefore women judges can connect with each other with ease even with diverse backgrounds.

All women judges have been through the struggle to keep the fine balance in the workplace and home; the struggle to cope with the guilt of not being available to family members at pressing times; the struggle to walk past the skepticism of colleagues, which she felt, made them special.

"we have been through it all; have been tested by fire… We carry those scars with pride and that is what makes us women judges special."

The event is organised in furtherance of a United Nations General Assembly resolution which had resolved on 28 April, 2021 to proclaim 10 March of each year as the 'International Day of Women Judges'. It called upon the Member States to observe the same, 'in order to promote the full and equal participation of women at all levels of the judiciary'.

CJI NV Ramana, Justices Bela M Trivedi, Indira Banerjee and BV Nagarathna also spoke at the event.

Also read : Women Should Be Given Preference In Appointment Of Panel Advocates; Girls Must Have Reservation In Legal Education : CJI Ramana

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