At HTLS, CJI Chandrachud says mindsets must change for more women in judiciary

Mindsets about women must change to break barriers that come in the way of greater representation of women in the judiciary, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said on Saturday.

The CJI said there were structural barriers exist at the point of entry as the parameters laid down for entry into the legal profession are “warped” or loaded against those who do not have access to a English-based education, the CJI said at the inaugural session of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

When they do enter the legal profession, there is a reluctance to employ them because there is a perception that women have to bear an unduly large part of the share of child rearing, familial responsibilities, or societal responsibilities. “Therefore mindsets have to change,” the CJI said on the barriers that prevent women from playig a greater role in judiciary.

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The CJI, who was in conversation with HT’s national legal editor Utkarsh Anand, also touched upon diverse issues ranging from separation of powers, forward-looking judgments from courts, use of technology, and the work pressure on judges.

Elaborating on the proportion of women in the judiciary, the CJI underlined that a change was taking place across the country as more women recruits were joining the subordinate judiciary in states where women education had gained ground.

“In Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, of course the southern states, you will find that in the next ten years, these women are occupying positions of responsibility as we have women officers here from the armed forces who are occupying important positions of responsibility so then you open up the space and you will find these people accepting and achieving better positions of responsibility.”

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The CJI, who was in minority in the recent judgment on same-sex marriage, said that as judges, courts have to go by constitutional morality and not popular morality. “The fact that judges are not elected is not our deficiency but our strength...so we are ahead of our times,” CJI said in response to a question.

He added, “Judges don’t look at how society will look at their decisions. They go by constitutional morality and not public morality. Constitutional morality which includes fraternity, human dignity, personal morality and equality.”

The CJI also spoke about separation of powers, saying that while it was open to the legislature to cure a defect in law decided by the courts, a law cannot be brought with the stated purpose of overruling a judgment by the court.

Asked if there should be an age of retirement for judges, the CJI said, “It is important that judges must retire as its too much of a responsibility... Judges are human beings and you must pass on the mantle to succeeding generations.”