New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre, states, and Union Territories (UTs) on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to ensure a minimum 30 per cent reservation for women advocates in government legal panels and law officer appointments across the country.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi passed the order after briefly hearing the matter.

In a brief hearing, senior advocate and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Vikas Singh referred to a recent survey highlighting challenges faced by women in the legal profession and urged the top court to ensure greater inclusion in government legal panels and law officer appointments.

“This is pursuant to the SCBA survey on women in the legal profession. They need to be included in government panels,” he submitted.

After hearing the submissions, the CJI-led Bench agreed to hear the matter and listed it for further hearing next week.

The PIL, filed by Ladli Foundation Trust, seeks a direction to implement “a minimum 30 per cent reservation for women advocates in all High Court panels, government law officer positions and all Central and State Government/Public Sector Undertaking legal panels”.

According to the plea, government legal panels and law officer appointments constitute a critical component of the state’s legal representation before constitutional courts, tribunals and other judicial forums, and therefore must reflect the constitutional mandate of equality and fair representation.

“The process of empanelment to such positions is expected to reflect the constitutional mandate of equality and inclusivity. However, empirical data demonstrate that women remain severely underrepresented in such panels and institutional legal positions,” the petition stated.

It contended that despite constitutional guarantees under Articles 14 and 15(3), women continue to face systemic exclusion from institutional legal opportunities and government empanelments. Citing empirical data, the plea highlighted that women constitute only around 25.3 per cent of panel lawyers across major states, with several states reporting even lower representation.

The petition also relied on a nationwide survey conducted by the SCBA, which found that a majority of women advocates believe that government panel appointments are easier for men and called for a mandatory policy to ensure adequate representation.

Further, the plea said that no woman has served as Attorney General for India or Solicitor General of India since Independence, and none of the Additional Solicitors General assigned to various High Courts are women.

The PIL relied upon recent Supreme Court directions mandating reservation for women in bar association governing bodies and argued that similar affirmative measures are constitutionally permissible and necessary in government legal empanelments as well. The petition said that government panels function as important professional platforms that influence visibility, leadership opportunities, and judicial elevation, and exclusion of women from such platforms adversely affects career progression within the legal profession.

Apart from senior advocate Vikas Singh, advocates Varun Singh and Mudit Gupta also appeared on the petitioner’s behalf in the matter.

–IANS

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