'If an Indian Woman Can Become CEO of Pepsi, Why Can’t Women Lawyers Become Judges': Kapil Sibal

Supreme Court Bar Association president Kapil Sibal said that it would not be easy for a woman to become a judge of the Supreme Court, given the travails and tribulations she would have to face in her professional journey. Stating the women were excelling in higher ranks in many fields, he urged CJI D Y Chandrachud to appoint more women lawyers and judges in higher judiciary.

New Delhi:Supreme Court Bar Association president and senior advocate Kapil Sibal on Friday urged Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud to appoint more women lawyers’ and judges’ in higher judiciary, saying “the question that needed to be asked was how after around 75 years of Independence, there had been only nine women judges?”

The Rajya Sabha MP and SCBA president was speaking at the farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association for Justice Hima Kohli, the ninth in seniority among the apex court judges, who is due to retire on September 1. After the retirement of Justice Kohli, the number of apex court judges will come down to 33 against the sanctioned strength of 34. The apex court will be left with only two women judges -- Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice Bela M Trivedi.

"I request the Chief Justice of India to look at law firms and women who are aware of the complexities of the business community. If Indians, Indian women, can become CEOs of Pepsi and run banks in India and lead commercial organisations in India, why should not women lawyers working in law firms dealing with complex legal issues, not be absorbed and brought to the judiciary so that they can be appointed in different high courts," Sibal said.

Sibal said Justice Kohli carved her career and chartered her own course in life and she was the ninth apex court woman judge till date. "The question that needed to be asked was how after around 75 years of Independence, there had been only nine women judges?”, said Sibal, adding that this tells something about the male mindset in this country.

Sibal said it was not easy to become a judge of the Supreme Court, given the travails and tribulations that a woman faced in her professional journey to the bar and then to the bench. "Now, if you look at the Supreme Court, there are very fine lady lawyers in our court, and yet, if you really notice, none of them is doing litigation in relation to business matters," he said.

Sibal also highlighted that some women lawyers in the top court were having a "phenomenal practice" and that the CJI could pick them and move them across high courts in the country. “if you give responsibility, and you know that our women are able to discharge any kind of responsibility, including the responsibility of the highest position in the country, president, prime minister of India, why not judge of the Supreme Court, and why not more judges in the high court?" he said.

He said Justice Kohli possessed four essential traits of a judge and they are -- clear and forward-thinking vision, a firm grasp of practical realities, steadfast ethical principles, and the bravery to act on them and if our judges were to actually each of them have these four essential traits, "I think our judicial system will bloom to another level altogether".

Speaking at a farewell function, CJI said Justice Kohli was a "role model" for budding lawyers, especially women advocates and hailed her as a "voice of reason" and a person who stood for the rule of law. He lauded her sensitivity and sound judicial decision making.

In the morning, the CJI, while holding a ceremonial bench for Justice Kohli, had hailed Justice Kohli, saying she is not just a woman judge but also a fierce protector of the rights of women. "It has been a pleasure to sit with Justice Kohli. We have exchanged very serious ideas and thoughts. There have been times when she supported me. Hima, you are not just a woman judge but also a fierce protector of the rights of women," the CJI said.

Attorney General R Venkataramani said Justice Kohli dedicated her entire life to the cause of justice.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, "We have always seen a very tough exterior on the bench but we have also seen a very soft, humane and compassionate side of Justice Kohli."

Born on September 2, 1959, in Delhi, Justice Kohli went to the St Thomas School, and graduated with Honours in History from St Stephen's College. She completed her post-graduation in History and thereafter, joined the LLB course at the Law Faculty, Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi, and completed it in 1984. She was appointed as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court on May 29, 2006, and took oath as a permanent judge on August 29, 2007. Justice Kohli was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court on January 7, 2021.

She was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on August 31, 2021.