The Supreme Court while hearing a batch of Special Leave Petitions has reinforced its mandate to ensure minimum 30% representation for women lawyers in the governing or executive bodies of Bar Associations across the country, including those at the Taluka, District, and specialised tribunal levels.

The Bench comprising the Chief Justice and Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that while compliance has been encouraging in several jurisdictions particularly at the Supreme Court Bar Association and in certain High Courts like Delhi, the benefit has not uniformly percolated to all Bar Associations, especially at the grassroots and specialised forums.

To monitor implementation, the Court had earlier (January 2026) directed all High Courts to submit status reports through their Registrar Generals. While 13 High Courts have complied, 12 High Courts are yet to file their reports, prompting the Court to issue fresh directions.

The Court has now directed that:

• All Bar Associations must ensure that at least 30% of members participating in elections to executive bodies are women.

• In cases where the total number of women advocates is insufficient, the available women members may still be included in the governing body.

• Where eligible women candidates do not contest elections despite adequate numbers, District Judges are empowered to nominate women lawyers to the executive committees of Bar Associations within their jurisdiction.

• Compliance reports are to be consolidated by the Registrar Generals and submitted to the Court.

Emphasising the broader objective, the Court observed that most Bar Associations have “wholeheartedly accepted” this policy, and any resistance or difficulty at local levels must be reported for appropriate judicial intervention.

The matter has been listed for further consideration on 17 April 2026, with pending High Courts directed to file their compliance reports within two weeks.

Appearances:

For Petitioners : Mrs. Lakshmy Iyengar, Sr. Adv.; Mr. Amruthesh. N. P, Adv.; Mr. Harshith. S, Adv.; Mr. Tanmay Mehta, Adv.; Ms. Divya Swami, AOR; Ms. Nalina Mayegowda, Sr. Adv.; Mr. Dilraj Singh Bhinder, Adv.; Mr. Priyadarshi Banerjee, Adv.

Mr. Rishabh Singhle, Adv.; Mr. Sujoy Chatterjee, AOR; Ms. Jayna Kothari, Sr. Adv.; Dr. Anindita Pujari, Sr. Adv.; Ms. Aparna Mehotra, Adv.; Mr. Shaileshwar Yadav, Adv.; Mr. Mritunjay Pathak, Adv.; Ms. Laxmi, Adv.; Mr. Hitendra Nath Rath, AOR; Ms. Radhika Mohapatra, Adv.

For Respondents: Mr. Aman Panwar, A.A.G.; Mr. Sanchit Garga, AOR

Mr. Kunal Rana, Adv.; Mr. Shashwat Jaiswal, Adv.; Mr. Abhinav Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Manav Kaushik, Adv.; Mr. H. Chandra Sekhar, AOR ; Mr. Anil C Nishani, Adv.; Mr. J K Mishra, Adv.; Mr. Krishna M Singh, Adv.; Mr. Kushal U, Adv.; M/s Krishna & Nishani Law Chambers, AOR; Mr. Sanjai Kumar Pathak, AOR; Mrs. Shashi Pathak, Adv.

Mr. Arvind Kumar Tripathi, Adv.; Mr. Robin Kumar, Adv.; Ms. Shweta Jayshankar Dwivedi, Adv.; Mr. K. V. Muthu Kumar, AOR; Ms. Shreemoyee Bhattacharjee, Adv.; Ms. Nidhi Mittal, AOR; Mr. Gurjas Singh Narula, Adv.; Ms. Anu B., AOR

Mr. Bibhuti Krishna, Adv.; Mr. Vaibhav Choudhary, Adv.; Mr. Avneesh Arputham, AOR; Mr. Ankit Sharma, Adv.; Mr. Ashok Bannidinni, AOR; Mr. Thyagaraj, Adv.

Mr. Gnanesh H Kempanna, Adv.; Mr. Sunil M.v, Adv.; Ms. Betsara Mylliemngap, Adv.; Mr. Amit Sharma, AOR; Mr. Nishant Ramakantrao Katneshwarkar, AOR

Mr. Vijay Singh Mehra, Adv.; Mr. Shrirang Katneshwarkar, Adv.; Mr. Dipak Vidhate, Adv.; Ms. Shiwani Tushir, AOR.

Mr. Divyakant Lahoti, AOR; Mr. Kartik Lahoti, Adv.; Ms. Akanksha Soni, Adv.;Ms. Shubheksha Dwivedi, Adv.; Ms. Vindhya Mehra, Adv.; Ms. Praveena Bisht, Adv.; Mr. Rahul Maheshwari, Adv.; Mr. K Vinayakam Gupta, Adv.; Ms. Samridhi Bhatt, Adv.

Mr. Siddharth Tripathi, Adv.; Ms. Shreya Gokel, Adv.; Ms. Charu Mathur, AOR

Mr. Anuj Bhandari, AOR; Mr. Anuj Bhandari, Adv.; Ms. Jahanvi Bhardwaj, Adv.; Ms. Ishu Bhardwaj, Adv.; Mr. P. I. Jose, AOR; Ms. P S Chandralekha, Adv.

Mr. Shishir Pinaki, Adv.; Mr. Dhanaeswar Gudapalli, Adv.; Mr. Satyeyu Veer, Adv.; Mr. Bamdle Venkatesh, Adv.; Ms. Mallika Das, Adv.; Mr. D. Mahesh Babu, AOR

Mr. Sandeep Sudhakar Deshmukh, AOR; Mr. Nishant Sharma, Adv.; Mr. Ankur Savadikar, Adv.; Mr. Kartik Sharma, Adv.; Ms. K. V. Bharathi Upadhyaya, AOR; Ms. Pritama, Adv.; Ms. Shaivani Gupta, Adv.; Dr. Sunita, Adv.; Mr. Sufyan Hasan, Adv.; Ms. Hema, Adv.; Mr. Bipin Vinayak Chandan, Adv.; Ms. Ranu Purohit, AOR

Mr. Yashas Rk, Adv.; Ms. Niharika Singh, Adv.; Mr. Agam Sharma, AOR; Ms. Deepika Nandakumar, AOR; Ms. Kanimozhi J., Adv.; Mr. Ahanthem Henry, Adv.; Ms. Khoisnam Nirmala Devi, Adv.; Mr. Kumar Mihir, AOR