Kapil Sibal urges Collegium to appoint women lawyers from law firms as judges

Senior Advocate and Supreme Court Bar Association president Kapil Sibal on Friday urged the Collegium to appoint more women judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court..He specifically batted for women lawyers working in law firms who are experts in dealing with commercial cases.Such women counsel should be considered for elevation as High Court judges, he stated."I request the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to look at the law firms and see ladies who are aware of business complexities. If Indian woman can become Pepsi CEO, why cannot such women at the law firms be designated as high court judges? The CJI should also look at phenomenal lady lawyers working in this court and (they should) be designated as High Court judges. It has happened with male lawyers; then why not women lawyers. The ratio must change," Sibal opined. .He was speaking at the farewell function organised for apex court judge Justice Hima Kohli, who is set to demit office on September 1..Sibal in his address added that the top court has fine lady lawyers but they are not briefed when it come to business and commercial matters. "There are a lot of lady lawyers in law firms doing complex legal issues but when it comes to litigation, woman lawyers are not briefed and as a woman judge they decide such questions."He acknowledged the trials and tribulations that women have to face in the legal profession before being elevated to the Bench..Attorney General for India R Venkataramani described Justice Kohli as a remarkable judge and a trailblazer.The CJI in his addressed lauded her for giving institutional support to women in the profession and standing for sensitivity and sound judicial making."She has used her voice to air issues facing women in the profession and maintained that gender justice is essential for nation's development. She has shown that to succeed in the profession you don't have to forsake your femininity."The CJI said that improvement in the gender ratio when it comes to the bar and the bench, can be achieved only when there is a level playing field at the threshold."What is the problem with the legal profession - there is no level playing field. I request all seniors to stop recruiting in senior chambers purely based on network, friend's children. The SCBA can put out seniors who would like to recruit and then applications can be made and interviews can be given. Level playing field will show that women will succeed.".Earlier in the day, Justice Kohli had shared the customary ceremonial bench with the Chief Justice of India.On her last working day as a Supreme Court judge, Justice Hima Kohli was lauded by both the Bench and the Bar as a fierce protector of women's rights..Justice Kohli completed her LL.B. from Law Faculty, Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi in 1984. After practicing for over two decades, she was elevated as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in May 2006, and as a permanent judge in August 2007. She was then appointed as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court in January 2021, before her elevation to the Supreme Court on August 31, 2021.