🏛️ Polity
CJI Surya Kant says Kerala High Court's example pushed the Supreme Court to seat more women judges
In 60 seconds: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant opened the platinum jubilee of the Kerala High Court on Sunday, marking 70 years since it began on 1 November 1956. He said the court, where pioneering judges Anna Chandy and Fathima Beevi started out, inspired the collegium to raise women's representation. He also asked High Courts to make urgent listing more predictable so that litigants need not rush to Delhi.
Why it matters
Women are still few on India's higher benches. The CJI tied Kerala's record to the push for more women judges, and his point on urgent listing affects every litigant.
Explain it simply
When the eldest daughter of a family becomes the village's first doctor, the younger girls start believing they can too. Kerala's first women judges did that for India's courts.
The 3-minute read
What happened
The CJI said the collegium had recently brought two women judges to the Supreme Court during his tenure. He recalled that bar bodies were once called a 'men's club', and said that as a High Court judge he had pressed bar councils and associations to give women 30% representation.
Background
The Kerala High Court began on 1 November 1956. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Kerala High Court Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Supreme Court judge Justice Sarasa Venkatanarayana Bhatti also spoke. Justice Bhatti urged young lawyers to learn court craft by watching courtrooms, not only through technology.
How it works
On urgent cases, the CJI noted that litigants increasingly come straight to the Supreme Court, bypassing High Courts. He accepted that each High Court controls its own roster, but asked whether urgent matters could be spotted better, listing made more transparent and technology used to set priorities.
What's next
The CJI called these questions a shared responsibility, not criticism. The jubilee also saw the release of a souvenir, a commemorative stamp and a documentary on 70 years of the court.
What it means for you
'Firsts' among women in the judiciary are a favourite in prelims and judiciary exams. Learn Anna Chandy and Fathima Beevi with their years.
Key numbers
- 70: Years since the Kerala High Court began
- 2: Women judges brought to the Supreme Court in the CJI's tenure
- 30%: Women's share the CJI sought in bar bodies
Both sides
- CJI Surya Kant: Kerala's example inspired more women on the bench, and timely interim orders often matter more than final verdicts.
- Observers: Women are still a small minority among higher court judges, so a few firsts are not enough on their own.
Key terms explained
- Collegium
- The group of the Chief Justice of India and senior Supreme Court judges that recommends appointments of judges to the higher courts.
- Platinum jubilee
- The 70th anniversary of an institution or event.
The story so far
- 1 Nov 1956: The High Court of Kerala begins work as the new state of Kerala is formed. Kerala was formed on 1 November 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, and its High Court began functioning the same day. Article 214 of the Constitution provides a High Court for each state.
- 1959: Anna Chandy becomes India's first woman High Court judge, at the Kerala High Court. Justice Anna Chandy, who began her career in Kerala, became the first woman in India to be appointed a High Court judge.
- Oct 1989: Fathima Beevi becomes the first woman judge of the Supreme Court. Justice M. Fathima Beevi, who had served on the Kerala High Court, became the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of India. She later served as Governor of Tamil Nadu.
- Today: CJI opens Kerala High Court's platinum jubilee, hails its women judges
Exam notes (UPSC, SSC, Banking, PSC)
- Justice Anna Chandy (Kerala High Court, 1959) was India's first woman High Court judge.
- Justice M. Fathima Beevi became the first woman Supreme Court judge in 1989.
- Article 214 provides a High Court for each state; Article 217 covers appointment of High Court judges.
- The Kerala High Court, set up on 1 November 1956, sits in Kochi and also covers Lakshadweep.
Likely exam question: Women remain under-represented in India's higher judiciary. Discuss the reasons and suggest reforms in the collegium system.