Justice Nagarathna issue: 4 Senior Women Advocates Question Collegium’s Stance on Dissent, Elevating Women Judges

Four senior women advocates of the Supreme Court  -- Mahalaxmi Pavani, Shobha Gupta, Aparna Bhat, Kaveeta Wadia – have expressed concern at the way the Collegium has dealt with Justice B V Nagarathna’s dissent has been dealt with regarding the elevation of Justice Vipul Pancholi as an apex court judge, according to a report in LiveLaw.  Justice Pancholi, along with Justice Alok Aradhe were sworn in on Friday.

Justice Nagarathna, the lone woman member of the five-judge Collegium, has strongly dissented in a written note against the elevation of Justice Pancholi, former Patna High Court Chief Justice, highlighting his “controversial” transfer from Gujarat High Court to Patna High Court in 2023 over “serious and grave” reasons. Her dissent not was not made public by the Collegium, despite her request, as per a statement by the Centre for Judicial Accountability.

In a solidarity statement addressed to Justice Nagarathna, the four senior women also questioned the Collegium’s “not consistent” approach with regard to elevating women judges to the Supreme Court.

“We wish to publicly acknowledge that your lone dissent on the other side has huge support on this side. We express our disappointment with the manner in which your lone dissent is not even highlighted in recommendations despite your wished to the contrary,’’ read the statement, as quoted by LiveLaw.

The four women advocates added that as “members of the Supreme Court bar, we consider ourselves an important stakeholder in the institution and are fully invested in upholding its dignity. Our concerns are manifold, primary amongst them is about the status of women on the Supreme Court bench. Transparency and public accountability displayed in the recent incident relating to the integrity of a High Court judge seems to have lost its way as is clear from the events which have unfolded in the last 3 days.”

Noting the “deafening silence” of the Bar and Bench at the lack of transparency in the Collegium system, the women advocates added that the apex court had itself stated that “dissent is the pillar of democracy”.

“This principle was powerfully articulated in Romila Thapar vs. Union of India (2018) 10 SCC 753 which stated that -- “Dissent is a symbol of a vibrant democracy. Voices in opposition cannot be muzzled by persecuting those who take up unpopular causes,” they wrote.

The statement also noted that the last time a woman was appointed as judge in the country’s top court was in August 2021.

“Four years have elapsed with no woman judge elevated to the Supreme Court, despite the availability of senior women judges in the High Courts who are demonstrably qualified and deserving. This indefensible approach that stands in stark contrast to the state ideals of a fair and equitable judiciary and clearly violates the established principles of gender justice and equity,” cited the LiveLaw report.

In a tweet on X, senior advocate Indira Jaising, too, questioned this approach of the Collegium.

“Why no woman judge since 2021, tell us the truth, more important men to be accommodated on the Supreme Court? Why was the rule of seniority departed from for a man but not for a woman judge”’, she wrote, reacting to the appointment of Justices Pancholi and Aradhe.

Questioning the “hypocrisy” of all the talk about women’s empowerment, Jaising wrote: “Why is the President of SCBA not protesting the non appointment of women judges to the Supreme Court of India. 28 male judges appointed with no woman judge since 2021.”

According to her, three women judges were in the line of elevation – Justice Sunita Agarwal ( Chief Justice Gujarat High Court), Justice Revati Mohit Dere ( Bombay High Court) and Justice Lisa Gill (Punjab and Haryana High Court), but were superseded by Justice Pancholi.