When will India compare with countries like Norway and Germany in terms of the representation of women in the country’s topmost court? According to the relevant stats, only seven women judges have made it to the Supreme Court of India in 70 years of independent India.
In Norway and Germany, however, we find the corresponding numbers to be much higher. As many as seven women hold positions in the top constitutional courts in Norway and Germany respectively. Canada is yet another country where four lady judges are currently rendering their services.
In contrast, India’s SC has only two lady judges – constituting only 8% of the SC’s strength. On the other hand, 35% of the members in the top constitutional court in Norway are women. The corresponding number in Germany’s top court is 43.8%.
With the inclusion of Justice Indu Malhotra, the number of judges in the Supreme Court has risen to 25. Currently, she and Justice R Banumathi are the two women judges currently serving the SC.
Born in Bangalore in 1956, the 62-year-old Justice Indu Malhotra is now the seventh woman judge of the Supreme Court after Justice Fathima Beevi, Justice Sujata V Manohar, Justice Ruma Pal, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and Justice R Banumathi respectively.
Still, the SC’s current strength is still six short of its approved strength (31). The representation of more women in these six vacancies can be the subject of a reasonable discussion.
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Featured image used for representative purposes only.