The Paradox of Male-Dominated Judiciary

The figure illustrates the percentage participation of female judges in the Supreme Court and various High Courts in India. The bars are not even reaching the minimum reservation percentage(33%) level in most of the top-level courts in India, including the Supreme Court. It can be noted that the only High Court with a bare minimum number of female judges is the Sikkim High Court. In the Supreme Court and the famous Allahabad High Court, the bars don’t even reach double digits.

The need to have female judges in the higher judiciary has different aspects.

Diversity Aspect

• Indian culture highly relies upon patriarchy. In India, many customary practices visibly promote gender discrimination and bias. For example, marital norms are different for men and women. Statutes such as the Indian Penal Code(1860) provide legal backing for some of these practices. Some such provisions boosting the patriarchy were recently severed from the IPC by the Supreme Court of India. However, nothing much has changed in society. Including female judges in various judicial benches will thus impact heavily on the legal framework. It’s hard to notice an error in law for somebody not at the receiving end. So only female judges can provide such diverse observations on the way how statutes overrule—the rule of law.
• The laws become more effective when looked upon with different critical aspects.

Equality Aspect

• The judgements become more neutral and equally considering both sides, especially in case of family and rights-related issues.
• More women will approach the court. Currently, the number of women pleaders is dangerously low in India.

Inclusiveness Aspect

• The courts will become more friendly towards various genders, including women and transgender. Also, the judgements will become more considerate and compassionate than wordy.
• Trials will become more considerate of the privacy and self-esteem of the victim. Gender mixing in benches will improve the environment in the courtroom and will preserve the right of the victims against being humiliated in court.

Essentially, the inclusion of more women in the judiciary is the need of the day. When we look into the history of ancient India, the early Vedic assemblies – Janas and Vidhathas had many women participants. As a result, the justice delivery system was more effective, and the harmony of society was evident. When these assemblies lost their importance in the later Vedic period, society became patriarchal and unjust. It means that the boon of the presence of women in judicial roles was pronouncing ever since. Regarding the world scenario, we can see that some of the historical judgements were delivered by female judges. In sum, increasing gender diversity in the judiciary is not just a matter of women’s empowerment; but that of societal improvisation.