• With the retirement of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, on August 9, 2025, there were two vacancies in the Supreme Court of India.
  • It was an opportune time to correct the acute gender imbalance in the Court and appoint women judges, but this did not happen.
• Instead Justice Vipul Pancholi and Justice Alok Aradhe were sworn in as judges of the Court on August 29, 2025.
• Justice B.V. Nagarathna is the sole woman judge out of the full strength of 34 judges in the Court. 
  • As a member of the Collegium, when she expressed her dissent over a recent appointment to the Court (Justice Vipul Pancholi) on the ground that there were others more senior, and on the basis of regional representation, her dissent was not taken into consideration

Gender Imbalance in the Supreme Court

• Since its inception in 1950, the Supreme Court has seen 287 judges, out of which only 11 have been women, amounting to just 3.8%.
  • The women judges are: Justice Fathima Beevi (1989), Justice Sujata V. Manohar (1994), Justice Ruma Pal (2000), Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra (2010), Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (2011), Justice R. Banumathi (2014), Justice Indu Malhotra (2018), Justice Indira Banerjee (2018), Justice Hima Kohli (2021), Justice Bela M. Trivedi (2021), and Justice B.V. Nagarathna (2021).
• The last major inclusion of women was in August 2021, when three women were appointed together, which for the first time pushed women’s representation above 10%.
• There has been no caste diversity among women judges, as none have been appointed from the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. 
  • Justice Fathima Beevi remains the only woman judge from a minority faith.

Issues in Women’s Representation

• Scant Appointments and Short Tenures: Women judges are often appointed late in their careers, which results in shorter tenures and limited opportunities for them to rise to senior positions. 
  • Justice Indu Malhotra and Justice Fathima Beevi had tenures of less than three years, while Justice B.V. Nagarathna, despite being in line to become the first woman Chief Justice of India, will hold the post for only 36 days (September 24, 2027 to October 29, 2027).
• Lack of Representation from the Bar: While nine male judges have been directly elevated to the Supreme Court from the Bar, only one woman, Justice Indu Malhotra, has received this opportunity. 
• Opaque Collegium Process: The Collegium system functions without transparency, and the criteria for appointments are not publicly available. 
  • Collegium resolutions explaining appointments have been inconsistently published, leading to a lack of accountability.
• Excuses Versus Reality: Former Chief Justices have often argued that there are not enough senior women judges available for elevation. 
  • However, in several recent appointments, seniority was not adhered to even among male judges. 
  • Despite the presence of competent women Senior Advocates, no serious effort has been made to elevate them to the higher judiciary.

Significance of appointment of Women Judges

• Diversity In Perspectives: Women judges bring unique perspectives rooted in their lived experiences, which enrich judicial reasoning and outcomes. 
• Strengthening of Public Trust: Their participation strengthens public trust by making the judiciary appear more inclusive and representative of society. 
• Representation: Greater representation of women also ensures that the judiciary reflects India’s plural democracy, making it a court for all citizens.

Procedure of Appointment of Judges

• According to the Memorandum of Procedure, the Chief Justice of India, in consultation with the four senior most judges of the Court, recommends names to the Union Minister of Law, who then forwards them to the Prime Minister for advising the President of India. 
• However, the process is opaque as there are no publicly established criteria. 
• While caste, region, and religion are sometimes taken into account, gender has never been treated as an essential factor in appointments.

Way Forward

• Institutionalising Gender in Appointments: Gender must be institutionalised as a formal criterion in the Memorandum of Procedure for judicial appointments, so that women are mandatorily considered in every round of selection.
• Ensuring Transparency in the Collegium: The Collegium process must be made transparent, with reasons for appointments and rejections being published in a consistent and detailed manner to build public trust.
• Promoting Direct Appointments from the Bar: Direct appointments from the Bar should actively include women lawyers, ensuring that Senior Advocates with merit are not overlooked simply because of gender bias.
• Expanding the Scope of Diversity: Diversity should go beyond gender to include caste, minority, and regional representation, so that the Supreme Court reflects the true pluralism of Indian society.
• Adopting a Written Diversity Policy: A written policy on diversity and inclusion must be adopted by the judiciary, making gender-balanced representation a mandatory and non-negotiable part of the appointment process.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court of India has been a pioneer in articulating gender equality in its judgments, even mandating gender quotas in Bar associations. 

• However, this commitment will remain incomplete unless women are adequately represented in the constitutional courts themselves. 

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