New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ordered 30% reservation for women lawyers in the upcoming Bar Council elections in Punjab and Haryana. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi also sought the assistance of Attorney General R Venkataramani and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati to deal with a petition seeking directions to increase the number of elected members of State Bar Councils, keeping in view the increase in the total strength of lawyers.
The Supreme Court gave the directions while hearing a pending petition seeking necessary steps to ensure adequate representation of women lawyers in State Bar Councils across the country. The bench clarified that all State Bar Councils, where elections are yet to be announced.
They should ensure 30% representation of women lawyers. The court said that in the case of Punjab and Haryana, the election process had not formally begun and only the final voter list had been published, making it appropriate to implement the reservation requirement.