NEW DELHI: Justice Hima Kohli, the eighth woman to become a Supreme Court judge, bid farewell to judiciary on Friday ending her 40 year association with law – 18 years as a constitutional court judge and 22 years prior to that as a lawyer – with a final request to Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud: “Please fill the vacancy arising from my retirement with a woman judge.”
Justice Kohli was emotional while sharing the dais with CJI Chandrachud in the ceremonial bench, her last sitting as a judge prior to her retirement on Sept 1.She promised to re-attire herself, moving away from a purely black and white world, both literally and metaphorically, by making space for coloured clothing in her wardrobe.
But her poignant request resonated in the farewell speech of SCBA president Kapil Sibal, who requested the CJI and his collegium members to look for bright women in law firms who handle complex litigations with aplomb.
“They do not get briefed for litigation despite doing exceedingly well in law firms in handling complex issues involved in litigations. Such bright professionals must be selected as HC judges. If women can become PM and President, they can surely become SC/HC judges,” he told CJI.
The farewell saw the CJI agreeing with Sibal with a caveat. Justice Chandrachud said of late, with the creation of a level playing field in district judiciary, women are outnumbering men in getting selected as judicial officers.
“Why can’t senior advocates recruit more women lawyers and train them to become as successful as they are? Once legal profession creates a level playing field, I am sure more women lawyers would emerge as successful professionals like Justice Kohli,” the CJI said.
Justice Kohli is a first-generation lawyer from a family of historians. She was mentored by lawyers Sunanda Bhandare, Y K Sabharwal and Vijendra Jain, all three of whom got elevated as judges of the Delhi HC. Kohli herself walked in their footsteps and became a judge of the Delhi HC in 2006.
She became the first woman chief justice of Telangana HC on Jan 7, 2021. CJI N V Ramana on Aug 31, 2021 created history by administering oath of office to three women judges – Justices Kohli, B V Nagarathna and Bela M Trivedi – on the same day. Prior to them, there had been only seven women judges in SC since its birth on Jan 26, 1950. Justice Nagarathna would become the first woman CJI on Sept 24, 2027.
Justice Kohli was emotional while sharing the dais with CJI Chandrachud in the ceremonial bench, her last sitting as a judge prior to her retirement on Sept 1.She promised to re-attire herself, moving away from a purely black and white world, both literally and metaphorically, by making space for coloured clothing in her wardrobe.
But her poignant request resonated in the farewell speech of SCBA president Kapil Sibal, who requested the CJI and his collegium members to look for bright women in law firms who handle complex litigations with aplomb.
“They do not get briefed for litigation despite doing exceedingly well in law firms in handling complex issues involved in litigations. Such bright professionals must be selected as HC judges. If women can become PM and President, they can surely become SC/HC judges,” he told CJI.
The farewell saw the CJI agreeing with Sibal with a caveat. Justice Chandrachud said of late, with the creation of a level playing field in district judiciary, women are outnumbering men in getting selected as judicial officers.
“Why can’t senior advocates recruit more women lawyers and train them to become as successful as they are? Once legal profession creates a level playing field, I am sure more women lawyers would emerge as successful professionals like Justice Kohli,” the CJI said.
Justice Kohli is a first-generation lawyer from a family of historians. She was mentored by lawyers Sunanda Bhandare, Y K Sabharwal and Vijendra Jain, all three of whom got elevated as judges of the Delhi HC. Kohli herself walked in their footsteps and became a judge of the Delhi HC in 2006.
She became the first woman chief justice of Telangana HC on Jan 7, 2021. CJI N V Ramana on Aug 31, 2021 created history by administering oath of office to three women judges – Justices Kohli, B V Nagarathna and Bela M Trivedi – on the same day. Prior to them, there had been only seven women judges in SC since its birth on Jan 26, 1950. Justice Nagarathna would become the first woman CJI on Sept 24, 2027.
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