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. 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. Justice Pancholi and Justice Alok Aradhe were sworn in as judges of the Court on August 29, 2025.
This not only invites us to review the procedure of appointment of judges in India’s top court but also to examine and question the severe lack of women judges, which, directly, has an impact on how women judges and their views are considered. There must be a focus on the complete exclusion of appointments of women in the Court and what that means for the country today.
Scant appointments, a lack of diversity
Historically, only 11 women have been appointed to the Court till date, which is a mere 3.8% of the 287 judges who have been appointed since its inception in 1950. The details of the women Supreme Court judges are: Justice Fathima Beevi (October 6, 1989-April 29, 1992); Justice Sujata V. Manohar (November 8, 1994-August 27, 1999); Justice Ruma Pal (January 28, 2000-June 2, 2006); Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra (April 30, 2010-April 27, 2014); Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (September 13, 2011-October 29, 2014); Justice R. Banumathi (August 13, 2014-July 19, 2020); Justice Indu Malhotra (April 27, 2018-March 13, 2021); Justice Indira Banerjee (August 7, 2018-September 23, 2022); Justice Hima Kohli (August 31, 2021-September 1, 2024); Justice Bela M. Trivedi (August 31, 2021-June 9, 2025); Justice B.V. Nagarathna (August 31, 2021-October 29, 2027).
The last appointment of women to the Court was on August 31, 2021 when the Collegium, led by then Chief Justice of India (CJI), N.V. Ramana, appointed three women judges. This was seen as unprecedented because even the appointment of three women at one go was a rarity. Along with Justice Indira Banerjee, who was already on the Bench, it was, for the first time, that there was more than 10% representation of women in the Court. There has also been also a total absence of caste diversity among women judges in the Court as this has not led to the appointment of women from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Justice Fathima Beevi remains the sole woman judge in the Court from a minority faith.
There is a significant gender disparity in the number of direct appointees to the Court from the Bar, or lawyers directly elevated from practice. From 1950, nine male judges have been elevated to the Court directly from the Bar. However there has been only one woman till date, Justice Indu Malhotra; no other woman lawyer has been appointed to the Court, despite there being women Senior Advocates in the Court. In fact, there is a gap in the appointment of women lawyers as judges, both in the High Courts and the Supreme Court, which is shocking. Across the world, the Bar is viewed as the traditional route into the judiciary and appointments to the higher judiciary are often seen as the final phase of a career for a lawyer. However, this does not hold true for women lawyers in India and is a glaring area of discrimination that women in the legal profession face.
Women in the Supreme Court are also appointed much later in age, which severely limits their time on the Bench and their opportunities to rise to positions of seniority. Out of 11 women judges in the Court till date, only five women have been a part of the Supreme Court Collegium, with only three having been involved in appointments to the Court. Justice Indu Malhotra and Justice Fathima Beevi had tenures that were shorter than three years, a fate shared by only five male Court judges historically. The delayed age of appointment for women results in women judges not making it to the Collegium or as Chief Justice of India. The first woman CJI will be Justice Nagarathna, who is scheduled to be appointed for only 36 days (September 24, 2027 to October 29, 2027).
Procedure and criteria for appointments
The manner of appointments is also a matter of concern. According to the Memorandum of Procedure of Supreme Court Judges, the appointment of a Judge of the Court is decided by the CJI, in consultation with a Collegium of the four seniormost Judges of the Court. After receipt of the final recommendation of the CJI, the Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs will put up the recommendations to the Prime Minister who will advise the President of India in the matter of appointment.
There is no clarity as to on what basis appointments will be made as the criteria are not public. In 2017, the Collegium headed by then CJI Dipak Misra made public some of the resolutions of the Collegium on the Supreme Court website which included reasons for appointments. The Collegiums led by subsequent CJIs were not consistent in providing the reasons for its recommendations. What we do know is that at various times, the caste, religion or region of candidates have been considered for appointments. Reasons for appointments during the tenure of CJI D.Y. Chandrachud were more elaborately stated in the Collegium resolutions.
When caste, religion and regional representation are considered as criteria for appointments, why is gender not institutionalised as a criterion for appointment of judges to the Court? It is clear that, presently, gender is not taken into consideration at all for appointments of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts. This is a matter of serious concern.
The Collegium process is also shrouded in secrecy, without any transparency as to who is being considered and when. Appointments that are being considered to the higher judiciary should be made open and public. Candidates considered should be persons of exceptional intellectual and legal ability, with sound judgment and an excellent record of work, and must show sensitivity to the needs of different communities and groups. There must be a commitment for diversity and inclusion of gender, caste, religion and regional representation, which has to be institutionalised in the form of a written policy in the higher judiciary, so that gender representation is mandatory.
When former CJIs have been asked why women were not appointed to the Court, various palliative reasons have been given such as the non-availability of women in seniority. The present appointments show that seniority was given a go-by as several women judges of the High Courts who were more senior were not considered. Further, there is no seniority required for appointment of women lawyers directly to the Court, which has also not been done since 2018, when Justice Indu Malhotra was appointed.
The Supreme Court of India has been a pioneer on gender equality and gender inclusion. It has even directed Bar associations to mandate 30% of elected seats and office bearer posts for women. However, there is no institutionalised mandate for gender representation in the constitutional courts. It is time that this changes.
As a way to create greater trust, confidence
The presence of women judges on the Bench is vital to the Court. Women judges bring unique perspectives to the Court based on their personal and professional experiences with the law, which can have a significant impact on judicial outcomes. Bringing different perspectives and diverse forms of reasoning on the Bench creates greater public trust and confidence as it integrates varied social contexts and experiences that need to be valued. Most importantly, the presence of women judges of varying backgrounds in the Supreme Court will make it a truly representative court, for all citizens which it is intended to serve.
The Supreme Court of India is India’s top court. All its elaboration of gender equality would hold meaning only if there are enough women judges in the top court.
Jayna Kothari is Senior Advocate practising in the Supreme Court of India
Published – September 03, 2025 12:16 am IST