Legal profession patriarchal, caste based; must open up to all sections: CJI DY Chandrachud

Legal profession in India is patriarchal and sometime caste based and this needs to change, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said on Saturday. .Lawyers need to take steps to ensure that such changes are ushered in and the profession is opened up to people from different communities and marginsalised groups, he stated."This structure of legal profession, which is patriarchal and sometimes so caste based, has to change so that we as lawyers discharge our duties to our society to make the legal profession open up to people from different communities and marginsalised groups in our society," he said.He was speaking at the felicitation ceremony organised for him by the Bar Council of India (BCI).In his speech, the CJI also highlighted the system of recruitment of juniors prevalent in legal profession."In our profession is it not very common place that juniors find seniors on the basis of an informal network. Some will call it old boys club. We do not have a merit based method of selecting young lawyers who will be recruited to chambers," he said..He also commended the national law schools across the country for brining in fresh talent to the bar and the bench."The national law school movement has given rise to serious lawyers in the profession, many of whom are now joining the district judiciary. We need to tap this talent so that those who have passed out of 5-year course become judges in district judiciary," he saidHe reminisced how during his days law was not a preferred career choice."National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bangalore has become the front runner for change in the legal education. When I was in college people went to medicine first, then engineering, then architecture and so on. But now best comes into legal profession," he stated..However, he also said that there has been a proliferation of national law schools in the country and some are 'national' only in name."Now there are a number of national law schools Some are surviving well while some are national only in name," he said..Pertinently, he also highlighted the recent rise in number of women in the legal profession and the bench."During recent recruitment in Rajasthan judiciary, 60 percent of the people recruited were woman and that is a clear sign of changing times and just as women's education which is catching up," he stated..Read what the CJI said about paying junior lawyers here..[Watch the full event below]