Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday pitched for 50% reservation for women in government empanelment of advocates and called for creating a dedicated financial corpus to support women lawyers, especially during maternity breaks, as part of a broader push to secure “gender equality in the legal profession.”. Half of advocates empanelled by govt should be women, says CJI. Speaking at the 1st Supreme Court Bar Association’s national conference in Bengaluru, CJI Surya Kant said the government must move beyond the existing 15 to 30% benchmark and ensure that at least half of all empanelled advocates are women.. “Let us ensure 50% of those empanelled are women advocates. Let us not stick to just 30%. That can be a beginning. Second, in the legal aid panel too, at least 50% counsels should be women,” he said.. He also urged the Union and state governments to create a financial support system for women lawyers in their early years of practice, including “honorarium” based assistance during maternity leave.. “These measures will give women both opportunity and stability,” he said.. The Chief Justice said that such measures will ensure that women lawyers sustain participation in the legal profession even after the entry level at the Bar.. The CJI said that it was important for stakeholders to implement such measures to ensure that the “larger constitutional vision of equality” moves beyond formal guarantees to “lived realities.”. He also pointed to “encouraging trends at the entry level” of the legal profession, noting that women now constitute over 50% of students in national law schools and universities and a significant proportion of new entrants to the Bar.. “This reflects a societal shift. It shows that families and the society are now encouraging women, our daughters, to enter the legal profession,” he said.. The CJI however, added that there was no denying that a steep drop-off exists beyond entry-level participation.. “The real question is whether we are able to maintain that equality as careers progress,” he said.. The CJI called for a “closer examination” of systemic barriers that push women out of the profession.. He identified multiple structural challenges such as “long and irregular working hours, reluctance among litigants to brief women lawyers, and the lack of consistent mentorship from seniors.”. CJI Surya Kant also said there is an imperative need for creating safer work environments for women lawyers, particularly given late working hours in chambers after court.. To address these gaps, he also proposed creating a financial corpus to help women lawyers during the early stages of their practice and during their maternity break.. Such institutional opportunities, the CJI said, will help women build “credibility” and “client trust.”. “Creating a financial corpus for women lawyers for financial support in early years of practice. I think we can persuade the Government of India
