SC orders 30 pc representation to women in Punjab and Haryana Bar Council elections

New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday ordered giving 30 per cent representation to women advocates in the upcoming Bar Council elections of Punjab and Haryana.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also sought Attorney General R Venkataramani and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati's assistance in dealing with a submission seeking a direction to raise the number of elected members of state bar councils keeping in mind the rise in total numbers of advocates.

It passed the direction while hearing an application in a pending petition seeking measures to ensure adequate representation of women advocates in state bar councils across the country.

The bench clarified that all state bar councils where elections are yet to be notified must ensure that 30 per cent of their seats are represented by women advocates.

In the case of Punjab and Haryana, it said that the election process had not formally commenced and that only the final voter list had been published, making it appropriate to apply the reservation requirement.

"We are satisfied that our direction in paragraph 4 of the order dated 8 December 2025, to the extent of the words 'Punjab & Haryana', is liable to be deleted, as the election process is yet to commence and only the voter list has been finalised," it said.

The bench also ordered that the 30 per cent representation of women members, as contemplated in paragraph 6 of the earlier order, would apply "mutatis mutandis" (making necessary alterations while not affecting the main point at issue) to the ensuing elections of the Bar Council of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

In its December 8, 2025 order, the top court had observed that elections of four state bar councils had already been notified and that earmarking seats for women at that advanced stage would not be prudent.

The bench had specifically exempted Andhra Pradesh and Punjab & Haryana from the mandatory reservation on the ground that the election process had commenced.

However, upon reconsideration, the bench found that Punjab and Haryana stood on a different footing as elections were yet to begin.

According to the earlier directions, the bench had ordered that, for the present year, 20 per cent of the seats in the state bar councils be filled through election of women members, while an additional 10 per cent be filled through co-option.

The bench had also directed that proposals for co-option be placed before it in cases where elected women representatives fell short of the mandated percentage.

During the hearing, senior advocates Manan Kumar Mishra, Chairman of the Bar Council of India, and Shobha Gupta appeared in the matter.

Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, representing the Maharashtra Bar Council, urged the court to consider increasing women's representation for Maharashtra in view of its large membership base of approximately 2.7 lakh advocates.

She submitted that proportionate representation would translate to 35 women members for the State Bar Council, with 20 per cent coming through reservation and 10 per cent through co-option for the current elections.

Arora further suggested that the court could subsequently examine whether reservations should be proportionate to the strength of Bar Council memberships across states.

However, the bench cautioned against judicial overreach, observing that the court could not step into the domain of policy-making.

"Any blanket order in perceived exercise of power under Article 142 will have very, very chilling effects," the CJI said, while agreeing to seek a response from the Centre on the broader issue.

It then requested the Attorney General to assist the court on the next date of hearing, noting that certain observations concerning state bar councils had already been made. PTI SJK SJK KSS KSS