Key Developments
- The bench comprising Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi issued notice to the Union and all states.
- The notice responds to a PIL filed by the Ladli Foundation Trust.
- The petition seeks a minimum 30% reservation for women advocates in High Court panels, government law officer posts and Central/State empanelments.
- The bench asked parties to submit comprehensive material; the case is listed as W.P.(C) No. 471/2026.
Overview
Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the petitioner, highlighted a recent survey by the Supreme Court Bar Association that documents challenges faced by women lawyers. He argued that even when women are empanelled, they often receive no case assignments, necessitating a mechanism to ensure actual work allocation.
Important Facts
- India has about 1.54 million enrolled advocates; only 284,507 (≈15.31%) are women.
- Since 1989, only 11 women have been appointed to the Supreme Court.
- No woman has ever held the post of Attorney General for India or Solicitor General of India; similarly, no woman has been appointed as a High Court Advocate General or Senior Additional Advocate General.
- In Haryana, despite a few women holding the post of Additional Advocate General, they sometimes go a whole month without any case assignments.
Constitutional Provisions Invoked
The petition invokes Article 14, Article 15(3),