Building careers and braving stereotypes: The new Delhi High Court-designated women Senior Advocates

On November 29, the Delhi High Court designated 70 lawyers, including 13 women lawyers, as Senior Advocates.

While the number of women who have been offered the gown may seem unimpressive at first glance, it assumes significance in the larger context of women's representation amongst senior advocates in the country.

From 1969 till 2021, the Delhi High Court had conferred the senior gown to a total of 292 advocates, out of whom only 15 were female.

While gender representation remains wanting (only 7.7% women), the High Court has now nearly doubled that figure.

Bar & Bench contacted the newly designated women lawyers and got their thoughts on their most impactful cases, the challenges they have faced and the path ahead for women in the legal field.

Arundhati Katju

Katju has been practicing before the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court since 2005, appearing in high-stakes matters like the AgustaWestland scam and, consequently, navigating the field of criminal law. Besides criminal matters, she is engaged in various practice areas, including arbitration, bankruptcy, tax, sports, administrative law, and employment cases.

"To me, the most important cases are the ones where I have to deliver results in an adverse environment with a hostile and influential opponent, and where my client needs a lawyer who will represent them fearlessly," Katju said.

She successfully represented the lead petitioners in the Navtej Singh Johar case, in which the Supreme Court decriminalised consensual sex between same-sex couples. A year later, she was named one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of the Year.

"I’m eager to see even more of us (women) holding office in bar associations, being designated, getting elevated to judgeship, and becoming law officers. And in the meantime, onwards and upwards!" she said.

Diya Kapur

After working as a corporate lawyer in Delhi and New York, Kapur set up chambers with Shyel Trehan (another newly designated Senior Advocate). Over the years, Kapur has worked on cases in diverse fields, from challenging patents on genetically modified plants, to challenging the 103rd constitutional amendment.

The difference in how women lawyers are perceived in litigation as opposed to corporate environments is puzzling to say the least, Kapur said.

"Historically, women have been underrepresented as senior advocates and it was never clear why. Even the women senior advocates earlier were largely those fighting on women's issues and rarely seen instructed on commercial cases. In the corporate law firm world though, women had no glass ceilings."

She is heartened by recent developments, and especially by the fact that the attitude of judges is becoming increasingly gender-agnostic.

Kaadambari Singh

Singh has over two-and-a-half decades of experience in corporate and commercial disputes, white collar crimes, IPR, infrastructure, real estate, and much more. She is also heading the Law & Justice Committee of PHD Chambers of Commerce & Industry and is involved in numerous policy initiatives and liasons with the government on regulatory issues.

As a single mother, she often had to rely on the support of her parents and sister and even then, she would sometimes have to take her young daughter along with her to work.

"In retrospect, adversity perhaps helped me to succeed. I think that women lawyers who have come this far in the profession and have had the confidence to file their applications for seniority (irrespective of the outcome), are indeed the real survivors," she said.

She lamented the high attrition rates of women advocates and their exclusion from the inner circles of professional networks. But the increase in women applicants for senior designation, according to her, perhaps shows the emergence of strong women lawyers support groups.

Nandita Rao

Rao has been in practice since July 1998. She has served as Additional Standing Counsel (Criminal) for the Delhi government and on the monitoring committee of Delhi High Court's legal services authority.

She also had the rare opportunity to appear as a Mackenzie Friend (amicus) for a woman before a Court in the United Kingdom, where she got a precedent-setting judgment on the powers of child services.

Being a first generation lawyer, the biggest challenge for Rao was getting paid work and finding the right mentors.

"There are so many hardworking, intelligent and brave women lawyers who lack the social network of powerful mentors, but have sustained their practice and the confidence of clients in a male-dominated society and profession. I hope the women’s Bar gets more and more support of the Bench and the Bar. We are building our careers while caring for our homes and braving stereotypes," she said.

Pooja Mehra Saigal

Saigal has been practicing for over 28 years, predominantly in commercial litigation before the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, NCLAT, etc.. She has several reported judgements including one which laid down the law on the requirement of stamping of foreign awards in India.

But interestingly, it was a fascination with courtroom dramas that inspired her to take up law.

As a first generation lawyer, she considers herself privileged that a colleague's recommendation landed her a spot in Delhi-based firm Sibal & Eradi after initially having to resort to cold-calling law firms. Traveling over 120 kms daily for work for the past 25 years has paid off for Saigal, it would appear.

She points out that these days, contrary to common perception, it is not the judiciary that discriminates between male and female lawyers.

"Judges, particularly in the Delhi High Court, have consistently encouraged and promoted women lawyers. When gender bias does surface, it typically originates from clients, fellow lawyers, or colleagues," she said.

Priya Kumar

With over 28 years of practice under her belt, Kumar has appeared in many prominent cases. These include disputes between Amway and online giants like Amazon and Flipkart, to a case of adoption where the prospective adoptive parents were denied their place in the waiting list due to a change in rules. Kumar has gone beyond her domain specialisation of commercial litigation and infrastructure arbitration. But the system was initially reluctant to accept a woman in such technical fields.

Kumar believes that the challenge is not in merely increasing representation of women, it is in creating a space of confidence and acceptability as a counsel.

"For me personally, the real challenge is to create an ecosystem where the women are judged for the work that they do - good or bad - rather than the quality of work being attributed to their being a women. Gender neutrality in the context of counsel practice should be the goal, representation of all in designation would follow," she said.

Rajdipa Behura

Behura has nearly 24 years of active practice in criminal, civil, FEMA, company law, arbitration law, family law, and more. She has represented private and government entities before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, the Odisha High Court and various other courts and tribunals.

She has also co-authored a few books on criminal law and transfer of property.

The case that stands out to her is the JBT teachers scam case, in which the conviction of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and his son Ajay Singh Chautala was upheld.

Although the entered the profession as a mother of two young children, she is proud to say that she did not compromise on any front.

"I would say the representation of women among Senior Advocates has always been less. However, this year, a positive message has been delivered to the women advocates," she said.

Rashmi Chhabra

With a career spanning over three decades, Rashmi Chhabra has handled.numerous challenging cases across a broad spectrum of legal areas, including civil, direct tax, and service law. One of the most exhilarating assignments she encountered during her tenure as Senior Standing Counsel was in the case of Shanti Bhushan v. CIT in which Justice Shakhder famously quoted the renowned couplet, “DIL-E-NADAN TUJHE HUA KYA HAI AKHIR ISS DARD KE DAWA KYA HAI”

The case involved determining whether expenses incurred on bypass surgery by an advocate could be allowed as deductible expenditure under Sections 31 (current repairs) or 37 (business expenditure) of the Income Tax Act. Combining legal complexities with an element of human compassion, the case underscored the evolving interpretation of tax laws in modern jurisprudence.

As a first-generation lawyer and a mother of three, embarking on a career in litigation was an uphill battle from the outset.

"This initiative fosters diverse perspectives in law and decision-making, which ultimately benefits society as a whole. It is my hope that this increased representation will inspire young female advocates to continue to grow in the years ahead, leading to even greater representation within the legal profession', she says.

Shyel Trehan

Trehan has been practicing law since 2000. She also worked at law firms in the USA before transitioning to counsel practice in India in 2022.

While the mainstay of her practice is commercial disputes, the most meaningful case for Trehan is a pro bono case representing construction workers during the COVID-19 lockdown and securing monetary relief for them.

Apart from the challenges of being a first generation litigator, she also had to keep her practice together and maintain the confidence of her clients while she was pregnant and raising young children.

While noting that the number of women arguing counsel remains small, Trehan believes that the Delhi High Court today is an absolutely level playing field.

"It is perhaps the most gender-neutral court in the country, and I feel that today, there is no obstacle in the way of women reaching the highest level of whichever practice area they choose."

Sonu Bhatnagar

With a legal practice spanning over three decades, Bhatnagar now has the distinction of being the first woman lawyer with a practice focusing on indirect taxes to be conferred the senior gown.

With over 250 reported judgments, including cases before Constitution Benches, one of the most memorable cases for her is one which dealt with the issue of the ban on smoking in public places under Article 21 of the Constitution.

For Bhatnagar, the challenges she has faced are the same as those faced by any litigating lawyer.

"I think this is the highest number (of women lawyers) ever to be designated by the Delhi High Court. This shows that Full Court has taken note of the fact that more deserving women are coming into this profession. This number, in my opinion, should and will continue to grow in the future."

Swathi Sukumar

Sukumar has completed over 19 years of practice, having specialised primarily in intellectual property disputes since she began.

She appeared in the Delhi University Photocopy case which had a direct bearing on the lives of many students and their ability to access educational material. She was also involved in the Satyajit Ray case, which recognised the ownership rights of authors to their works. 

In the early years of practice, she felt the lack of some form of a professional mentorship network to navigate the isolating and difficult aspects of being a litigator. She is also hopeful that the progressive nature of the Delhi High Court will attract more women advocates.

"The number of women senior advocates is a reflection of the health of the institution. A system that values merit will naturally attract a diversity of talent," Sukumar said.

Tamali Wad

With 34 years of experience at the Bar, Wad specialises in matters involving service law. She also renders pro bono services at the Yamuna Nagar Women’s League, advising women from the rural sector on a host of women's issues and their rights when it comes to family law, inheritance law and protection against domestic violence.

She appeared in a plea before the Supreme Court for prohibiting commercial surrogacy, which ultimately resulted in the passage of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021 and the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Act, 2021.

While recognising that that the profession has become more welcoming to women over the years, Wad opined that there is still a long way to go to actually break the glass ceiling.

"The percentage of women lawyers actively practicing these days has increased manifold and resultantly the representation of women amongst Senior Advocates has also improved. However, it still is heavily skewed in favor of men," she said.

Vibha Mahajan Seth

Seth has been practicing law since 1998, working alongside a host of legal luminaries including former judges of constitutional courts. At the time of her designation, she was Standing Counsel for the Delhi High Court and panel counsel for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

She represented women associate professors of a college in Delhi University in a sexual harassment case they filed against a senior male professor, which led to a landmark judgment that laid down the procedure now followed by Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) of many organisations.

Apart from the challenges mentioned by the other first generation lawyers in this list, Seth points out the challenges of being a married, working mother who is tasked with managing the household.

"Law is a very-male dominated profession and like in any other career, a woman lawyer has to put multiple times more hard work than any other male counsel. However, the fact that we have so many women in powerful positions in this profession, be it judges or Senior Advocates, is in itself commendable," she said.