Women SC judges serve 1 year less than men: Report
What's the story
A new report by the Bengaluru-based Center for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) has pointed out systemic gender discrimination in judicial appointments in India.
The study, "Equal Justice: Addressing the Gender Gap in the Higher Judiciary in India," was released on Saturday.
It says women judges tend to have shorter tenures and get appointed at older ages than their male counterparts, preventing them from reaching senior ranks like the SC collegium.
Age and tenure
Tenure and age disparities impact women's rise in judiciary
The average age of appointment to the SC is 59.5 years for men and 60.5 for women, the CLPR report said.
Women judges also serve an average of 4.4 years, compared to their male counterparts' 5.4.
Nithya Rhea Rajshekar, senior research associate at CLPR, said this one-year difference can have a major effect on women's chances of making it to senior ranks in the judiciary.
Gender gap
High courts also show gender disparities in appointments
The gender gap in judicial appointments isn't confined to the SC.
The average age of appointment in high courts is 51.8 years for men and 53.1 for women; some have appointed women judges over three years later than men.
Rajshekar noted that of the 25 high courts across India, 15 have never had a woman act as chief justice, showing the absence of senior-most women judges in such courts.
Appointment process
Collegium appointments limit opportunities for women in judiciary
Aparna Chandra, a professor at the National Law School of India University, pointed out that SC appointments are mostly made among high court chief justices.
This has created limited avenues for those from the lower judiciary and disproportionately affects women.
Chandra said only 12 of 242 high court chief justices appointed by the collegium have been women, showing a severe gender disparity in such appointments.