5 months ago
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The Supreme Court connected Thursday (December 4, 2025) directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to guarantee 30% preservation for women successful the forthcoming State Bar Council elections to springiness effect to the “constitutional ethos” that mandates specified representation.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was proceeding 2 nationalist involvement petitions filed by Supreme Court advocates Yogamaya M.G. and Shehla Chaudhary, who pointed to the stark underrepresentation of women and different marginalised groups successful Bar Council bodies crossed the country.
“Keeping successful presumption the law ethos, the caller legislative initiatives and the orders passed by this Court from clip to time, we expect that the Bar Council of India volition construe the existing rules/framework successful specified a mode arsenic to guarantee that 30% seats successful each State Bar Council are occupied by women members,” the Bench said. It added that the preservation would widen not lone to elected positions but besides to the posts of office-bearers successful each State Bar Council.
Clarifying that the operative rules would beryllium deemed amended to incorporated specified a reservation, the Bench directed the BCI to spot connected grounds the steps taken for compliance by December 8.
Senior advocator Shobha Gupta, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the existent electoral strategy nether the Advocates Act, 1961, had resulted successful systemic exclusion of women. She pointed retired that the five-phase Bar Council elections scheduled betwixt January and April 2026 were progressing without immoderate proviso for women’s representation, which would permission women without assured information for different five-year word unless the tribunal intervened.
However, elder advocator Gurukumar, appearing for the BCI, submitted that introducing specified a preservation would necessitate amendments to the 1961 Act. He further pointed retired that respective State Bar Councils had already initiated their electoral processes, rendering it hard to incorporated immoderate changes astatine specified abbreviated notice.
The Chief Justice, however, assured the barroom assemblage that the Court would oversee the implementation of specified a reservation. “We volition resoluteness issues arsenic they arise. You travel retired with a notification connected Monday,” helium said.
The pleas person been filed relying upon the May 2, 2024, bid of the apical court, successful which it had directed that one-third of seats successful the enforcement committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association, including 1 office-bearer post, beryllium reserved for women.
