The Kerala High Court on Wednesday witnessed the swearing-in of four judicial officers, including two women, as additional judges..Justices C Jayachandran, Sophy Thomas, PG Ajithkumar and CS Sudha were the new judges to take oath. With these appointments, the working strength at the Court is now 41 judges, out of which 6 are women judges..While delivering the ceremonial felicitation address, Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup made some pertinent observations regarding the representation of women in the judiciary. "For the first time in the six and a half decades of its history, the actual sitting judge strength of this Court has risen to 41, with the strength of women judges also rising to 6. Six women judges in our High Court cannot be said to be reflective of the demographic proportion of women in our State," he said.He added that despite enrolment of girls in schools and colleges being near total, lack of representation of women on the Bench is a matter of concern."In a State where female infanticide is absent, where enrolment of girls in schools and colleges is near to total, if not total, and where women substantially find representation in public employment and that too in many instances outnumbering men, the fact that there are only six women judges in the High Court with only one among their ladyships directly elevated from the Bar, is definitely a matter for thought, if not of concern." Kurup stated..AG Kurup, however, underscored that the views of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana regarding women representation in judicial appointments as a matter of right, can be viewed as a silver lining. In September, CJI Ramana, while speaking at an event organised by women lawyers of the Supreme Court, had said, "Enough of suppression of thousands of years. It is high time we have 50% representation of women in judiciary. It is your right. It is not a matter of charity." .During the ceremony today, newly sworn-in judges, Justices Sophy Thomas and CS Sudha, also remarked on the fact that they were the first women to occupy their previous posts as Registrar General of the High Court and Additional Director of the Kerala Judicial Academy, respectively. .Justice Thomas said, "After about three decades of service, I was invited to become the first woman Registrar General of this prestigious institution. I am grateful to Chief Justice S Manikumar for taking such a bold decision that created history by making a woman the administrative head of the High Court of Kerala for the first time."She went on to mention that she had the distinct pleasure of signing the ID card of her daughter, who is also working as a judicial officer presently. .Speaking of her own experience breaking the glass ceiling, Justice Sudha said, "The Kerala Judicial Academy, earlier known as the Directorate of Training, from its inception in the year 1936, for 32 long years until November 2018, never had a woman among its directors. My gratitude to Justice Hrishikesh Roy, presently a judge of the Supreme Court and then Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, for selecting me as Additional Director of the Academy, thus breaking the glass ceiling.".Justices Thomas and Sudha join Justices Anu Sivaraman, Mary Joseph, Shircy V and MR Anitha as the women judges of the High Court. Among them, only Justice Sivaraman was elevated directly from the Bar..Justice PV Asha, who retired from the Kerala High Court in May 2021, had noted that only three women including her had been elevated from the Bar to be judges of the court in 64 years of High Court's existence. "Erudite and competent young women lawyers, dedicated to the profession, are available in abundance in the Bar,” Justice Asha had said.She had also highlighted the need for more female representation in the judiciary in general.
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday witnessed the swearing-in of four judicial officers, including two women, as additional judges..Justices C Jayachandran, Sophy Thomas, PG Ajithkumar and CS Sudha were the new judges to take oath. With these appointments, the working strength at the Court is now 41 judges, out of which 6 are women judges..While delivering the ceremonial felicitation address, Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup made some pertinent observations regarding the representation of women in the judiciary. "For the first time in the six and a half decades of its history, the actual sitting judge strength of this Court has risen to 41, with the strength of women judges also rising to 6. Six women judges in our High Court cannot be said to be reflective of the demographic proportion of women in our State," he said.He added that despite enrolment of girls in schools and colleges being near total, lack of representation of women on the Bench is a matter of concern."In a State where female infanticide is absent, where enrolment of girls in schools and colleges is near to total, if not total, and where women substantially find representation in public employment and that too in many instances outnumbering men, the fact that there are only six women judges in the High Court with only one among their ladyships directly elevated from the Bar, is definitely a matter for thought, if not of concern." Kurup stated..AG Kurup, however, underscored that the views of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana regarding women representation in judicial appointments as a matter of right, can be viewed as a silver lining. In September, CJI Ramana, while speaking at an event organised by women lawyers of the Supreme Court, had said, "Enough of suppression of thousands of years. It is high time we have 50% representation of women in judiciary. It is your right. It is not a matter of charity." .During the ceremony today, newly sworn-in judges, Justices Sophy Thomas and CS Sudha, also remarked on the fact that they were the first women to occupy their previous posts as Registrar General of the High Court and Additional Director of the Kerala Judicial Academy, respectively. .Justice Thomas said, "After about three decades of service, I was invited to become the first woman Registrar General of this prestigious institution. I am grateful to Chief Justice S Manikumar for taking such a bold decision that created history by making a woman the administrative head of the High Court of Kerala for the first time."She went on to mention that she had the distinct pleasure of signing the ID card of her daughter, who is also working as a judicial officer presently. .Speaking of her own experience breaking the glass ceiling, Justice Sudha said, "The Kerala Judicial Academy, earlier known as the Directorate of Training, from its inception in the year 1936, for 32 long years until November 2018, never had a woman among its directors. My gratitude to Justice Hrishikesh Roy, presently a judge of the Supreme Court and then Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, for selecting me as Additional Director of the Academy, thus breaking the glass ceiling.".Justices Thomas and Sudha join Justices Anu Sivaraman, Mary Joseph, Shircy V and MR Anitha as the women judges of the High Court. Among them, only Justice Sivaraman was elevated directly from the Bar..Justice PV Asha, who retired from the Kerala High Court in May 2021, had noted that only three women including her had been elevated from the Bar to be judges of the court in 64 years of High Court's existence. "Erudite and competent young women lawyers, dedicated to the profession, are available in abundance in the Bar,” Justice Asha had said.She had also highlighted the need for more female representation in the judiciary in general.
