In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has mandated the reservation of three key posts for women lawyers in the forthcoming elections of the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA). This directive also extends to district bar associations, where the role of Treasurer and an additional 30% of the posts will be reserved for women.
The decision was handed down by a bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan. The reserved posts in the DHCBA include the Treasurer, a ‘Designated Senior Member Executive,’ and a member from the senior designation category. This move is intended as an experimental measure for the upcoming elections, which are to proceed as scheduled.
This directive follows previous discussions wherein the Supreme Court expressed concern over the lack of female representation in significant roles within the Bar. Notably, the bench highlighted the absence of a female President in the DHCBA since its inception in 1962, which it described as “disappointing.”
The Court’s intervention came after earlier deliberations suggested resistance within the DHCBA to implementing such reservations. A General Body Meeting on October 7 resolved against reserving seats on the Executive Committee, a decision met with legal challenges that brought the matter before the Supreme Court.
The issue of women’s underrepresentation in legal and judicial roles is at the core of multiple petitions, one notably filed by Advocate Shobha Gupta. Gupta’s petition underscores the adverse impact of such underrepresentation on rights and access to justice, advocating for a 33% reservation in all Advocate Bar elections within Delhi.
