Supreme Court orders 30 percent reservation for women lawyers in Gujarat Bar bodies

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that the post of treasurer and 30 percent of the seats in the executive committees of Gujarat High Court and District Bar Associations should be reserved for women lawyers [Meena A. Jagtap v. Bar Council of India]..A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice NK Singh passed the order on a plea seeking reservation of 33 percent seats for women lawyer in elections of Bar Association as well as the Bar Council of Gujarat.However, the Court observed that with regard to the reservation sought by petitioner in the Bar Council of Gujarat, the issue would be considered at a later stage both in the context of all State Bar Councils and the Bar Council of India (BCI)..The plea filed by Meena A Jagtap, a lawyer at the Gujarat High Court, sought 33% reservation for women in the Bar Associations across the State of Gujarat and the Bar Council of Gujarat in line with Supreme Court judgement in Supreme Court Bar Association v. BD Kaushik.The petitioner contended that the failure to provide reservation for women in bar associations violates Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution of India and undermines India's international commitments under Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)."While women are increasing day by day and are being registered as lawyers in state of Gujarat, their representation in leadership positions remains negligible. This disparity affects young women lawyers particularly, as issues specific to women practitioners can only be fully understood and addressed by women representatives in decision-making positions," the petition read..The petition added that in ancient Indian culture, women were regarded as equals to men and held in high esteem, enjoying honor and respect within society. Rather than facing gender-based discrimination, women were celebrated and revered.This deep respect for women is embedded in Indian tradition and is reflected in religious and cultural texts, where women are venerated as "Devi," the embodiment of divinity and power, the petition noted..Earlier, the Supreme Court passed a slew of similar orders on various pleas reserving seats for women lawyers in the Supreme Court Bar Association, Delhi bar bodies, Karnataka bar bodies and Advocates' Association Bengaluru.The Court on Friday said that there was no justification to adopt a different position with regard to Gujarat..Advocates Anil Kumar Mishra, Ankit Dhawan, Aditya Jain and Supantha Sinha appeared for the petitioner.