Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud: More women as judges, a sign of changing times

Justice DY Chandrachud announced before the lawyers in the court that of the 75 civil judges (junior division), 42 are women and the group of civil judges comprised national-level sportspersons, successful singers, painters etc.

New Delhi: The Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud Friday said that more women joining the district judiciary as judges is a “sign of changing times” while welcoming a batch of freshly recruited 75 civil judges from Maharashtra. The judges from Maharashtra had gathered in the CJI’s court to watch the court proceedings.

Justice Chandrachud announced before the lawyers in the court that of the 75 civil judges (junior division), 42 are women and the group of civil judges comprised national-level sportspersons, successful singers, painters etc.

“Out of the batch of 75, 42 are women and 33 are men. Among the five direct recruits for district judges too, we have two women. It is a sign of changing times. We now have around 40% women joining as judges in the district judiciary”, he said, adding that the recent trend of more women joining as judges is encouraging.

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, who was present in the courtroom to argue a matter, said that a similar representation of women in constitutional courts would be welcomed.

The Chief Justice pointed out that a lawyer needs to have experience of at least 15 years before getting appointed to a High Court as a judge.

“The appointments we make today are a reflection of what happened 15 years ago. And, we have to select from the pool that is available today”, the Chief Justice said.

The Chief Justice also informed the lawyers that the apex court, a first in its history, appointed an interpreter to assist a lawyer with hearing impairment to argue her case. “I was telling the secretary-general that from now on, for all constitution bench cases, let us have an interpreter so that a wider audience can understand our proceedings”, he said.

The apex court had directed its registry to appoint an interpreter for advocate Sarah Sunny, suffering from hearing impairment, to appear before the top court and argue her case. Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, who was in the court hall to mention another matter, called it a historic moment.