Reserve more posts for women: SC tells HC bar association | Latest News Delhi
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Delhi high court bar association (DHCBA) to pave way for enhanced gender equity in the bar administration by considering reserving for women the post of treasurer and three more posts of executive members in the general body ahead of its elections slated next month.
“There should be a sign of progression from the bar,” said a bench headed by justice Surya Kant as it directed the bar association’s general body to convene within 10 days and take a decision on the lines of the court order.
The order of the court, which is yet to be uploaded on the SC website, came on a petition filed by two women, Aditi Chaudhary and Shobha Gupta, who sought reservation for women in district bar associations as well. On Wednesday, while hearing related petitions, the top court had expressed disappointment that since 1962, no woman lawyer has been elected as the president of DHCBA.
The bench, also comprising justices Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan, said, “We are extremely reluctant thinking why courts have to pass these orders…We need some brand ambassadors to show the way. We have no doubt what is done by the high court bar association, the district bar associations will not follow.”
DHCBA comprises five office bearers — president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer — and 10 executive members, one of which is already reserved for a woman lawyer.Presently, there are two women in DHCBA holding the post of lady member executive and member executive.
During the hearing, when the court proposed reserving the post of treasurer for a woman lawyer, DHCBA president and senior advocate Mohit Mathur, who was present in court, requested the bench not to specifically mention the post of treasurer and leave it to the general body to decide any one of the posts for office bearers.
The bench told Mathur: “The safest hands to handle the treasury is a woman.”
Additionally, Mathur told the court that his term is ending but objected to the way the petitions were indirectly seeking to amend the constitution governing DHCBA.
Initially, the bench had proposed reserving the post of vice-president, but senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for one of the petitioners, said that it was only a “ceremonial” post, while the active posts are of the president, secretary and treasurer.
The court then left it on the general body to consider allotting more than one posts of office bearers exclusively for women.
“The DHCBA is very large hearted. We are only strengthening your hands,” the bench said.
The matter has been placed for further consideration on October 16.
In May this year, the top court had also paved the way for women to hold top posts in the country’s premier bar body – the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) — by directing 33% reservation for women in executive member posts and office bearer positions and implemented the same from this year’s election.
