September 1st, 2021, was a historic moment for Indian women as Justice Hima Kohli, Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice B.V. Nagarathna were sworn into the Supreme Court, marking the highest number of women the 34 member court has held since its inception in 1950. Many saw the event as a turning point for women, with its significance further underscored by Justice B.V. Nagarathna rising to the role of Chief Justice in 2027 (BBC 1).
While there once sat three women on the bench, a historical high, representation has dwindled with the retirement of the female justices formerly appointed in 2021. Now, B.V. Nagarathna remains the sole emale member of the court. What was once a shift in court demographics has been undone with the retirement of the former justices, their positions now filled by male justices Vipul Pancholi and Alok Aradhe. Nagarathna provided a dissenting opinion on the appointment of Justice Pancholi on the basis of seniority, as at least three female high court justices had higher seniority than the newly appointed justice (The New India Express). Nagarathna’s opinion, however, would ultimately be ignored. (Universal Institutions).
The return to the Indian Supreme Court being cited as a “men’s club,” (BBC 2) can be traced back to the appointment system of the court itself. The Indian Supreme Court operates on the “Collegium System,” where the Chief Justice of India (CJI) makes recommendations in collaboration with the four-most senior judges on the court to be sent through the Union Law Ministry, then the Prime Minister, and finally to the President for approval. Although the Collegium accounts for diversity such as regional representation and caste, it is applied inconsistently and has no set guidelines for inclusion based on gender. Transparency from the Supreme Court regarding appointment resolutions is optional, leaving much of the decision-making regarding representation private deliberation (Universal Institutions).
The Supreme Court Bar Association acknowledges the disparity between women in the Supreme Court and their proportion in the general population, with the association publicly sharing on X their urgent request for the Supreme Court to take special consideration of women when making future appointments in the coming election cycles (X). In the X report, the Supreme Court Bar Association further discloses information about communications between President Vikas Singh and the Chief Justice of the Court, with President Singh urging Chief Justice Bhushan Gavai to, at a minimum, strive for proportional representation in both the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
The disproportionate representation of women in the Indian court system has been acknowledged by the media, the Supreme Court itself, and the President, leaving the next step in fulfilling the requests of the Bar Association being to identify and implement practical solutions. Both the lower and higher court systems suffer from similar disproportionate representation, with the lower court consisting of 28% women (VoxDev) while 14% of the high court is made up of women (Lukmaan). Justice Nagarathna proposed that 30% of seats on government panels be reserved for women, a policy intended to provide women aspiring to be higher justices with greater visibility in a landscape with little representation (Frontline). Both the recommendations made by Nagarathna and the Supreme Court Bar Association are steps towards breaking down the Supreme Court’s renewed “men’s club,” reputation. However, there has yet to be the implementation of gender specific criteria within Supreme Court selection of justices.
Sources:
BBC 1 – https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58498408
BBC 2- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9r047252jo
Lukmaan — https://blog.lukmaanias.com/2025/10/14/india-needs-more-women-judges-in-the-supreme-court/
New India Express — https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2025/Aug/27/sc-gets-two-new-judges-amid-justice-nagarathnas-dissent-on-justice-pancholi-in-line-to-be-cji-in-2031
Universal Institutions — https://universalinstitutions.com/women-representation-gap-in-supreme-court-india/
X — https://x.com/LiveLawIndia/status/1961721146329727256/photo/1