The Supreme Court on Friday urged the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to consider creating a permanent vice-president post for women from 2027 onwards, adding that the post of secretary remains reserved for women in the next SCBA elections.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice KV Viswanathan said the proposed reform could eventually pave the way for the apex bar to have its first female president.
“Let a general body meeting of the SCBA be held where the desirability of creating another post of Vice President which will then be reserved exclusively for women from 2027-28 onwards is considered,” the court ordered while hearing a matter relating to reforms in bar bodies.
“This will empower the women and they will one day rise up to become the president of SCBA,” the court observed.
At the same time, the Commission recalled its decision issued on April 27 according to which the position of Vice President was reserved for women in the 2026-2027 elections, after many female lawyers opposed the move and requested continued reservation for the position of Secretary instead.
Accordingly, the court restored the arrangement that was implemented last year, according to which the position of secretary, two positions in the Supreme Executive Committee, and three positions in the Executive Committee remain reserved for female members.
“The SCBA and the members of the Bar Association present in court graciously agreed that for the upcoming elections for the period 2026-2027 also, the position of secretary will continue to be reserved for women members of the Bar Association,” the council said.
The development came at the request of seven women members of SCBA — R Shase, Savita Devi, C Rubavathi, V Keerthana, Maitri Goal, Deepika Nandakumar and R Kanishca — who argued that the post of secretary carries greater functional importance in the day-to-day affairs of the association than the post of vice-president.
Their request noted that the three main offices in the SCBA are the offices of president, secretary, and treasurer, and that reserving one of these positions for women would send a stronger message to bar associations across the country.
“SCBA being the apex Bar Association of the country, every Bar Association in the country looks up to it… As per SCBA Rules, there are three posts of President, Secretary and Treasurer and a good message will be sent across the Bar Associations of the country if any of the three posts are reserved for SCBA elections of 2026-27,” the application said.
The Commission stressed that institutional reforms related to elected lawyers’ bodies must be developed with the participation and approval of lawyers themselves.
“While we issue orders that have a very positive reformative effect, the participation of the Bar is equally essential,” the court noted.
At one stage, the CJI observed that the court did not want to impose sudden reforms on the association.
The substitutes said, “We do not want to impose any changes immediately. We will only do that starting next year. The General Authority of the Supreme Basketball Council should not feel that we have imposed anything.”
“But I promise you that before I retire, this order will be passed,” Judge Kant added, referring to his retirement in February 2027.
The recent trends form part of a broader judicial campaign towards increasing women’s representation in legal institutions. Over the past year, the Supreme Court introduced 33% reservation for women in bar associations, starting with the SCBA, and later extended similar directions to the Delhi High Court Bar Association and Delhi District Bar Associations. The court also recently agreed to allocate 30% for women in bar councils.
