NEW DELHI: Underlining the need to have more engagement with people from marginalised and deprived sections of society, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Sunday said the legal profession needs to be more inclusive and there should be more representation of women in the higher judiciary.
Speaking at a function to mark the 100th year of Bhimrao Ambedkar’s law practice, CJI Chandrachud urged people in the legal profession to help achieve Ambedkar’s dream for equality in all walks of life.
The CJI appealed to judges from the SC, high courts and senior advocates, who were present in the audience, to reflect on how to make the legal profession more inclusive.
He also expressed concern over lesser representation of women in higher judiciary and said this could not be remedied overnight as the selection of judges had to be done from the available pool.
He said that in several states, at the district level, over 70-80% of fresh recruits were women but they remained under-represented in higher judiciary.
He said the issue would be discussed and steps taken to increase the available pool in the next 10-15 years.
Elaborating on challenges faced by marginalised sections of society, the CJI said, “CLAT examination, which is the bedrock for entering the legal profession, is entirely conducted in English. Now, with the very fact that the medium of examination is in English, we are making our profession urban-centric and wholly and completely biased against those who come from rural or marginalised backgrounds.
“Bringing social justice to the marginalised is not the project of the marginalised alone. Just like bringing gender justice is not a project only for women but it is a project for all of us. In that sense, I think we are all reforming ourselves and healing ourselves in our effort to heal society.”
Speaking on the occasion, SC judge B R Gavai said Ambedkar’s dream of an equal society had not been achieved yet and added that it was time to pledge to put in all efforts to achieve political and social equality.
Speaking at a function to mark the 100th year of Bhimrao Ambedkar’s law practice, CJI Chandrachud urged people in the legal profession to help achieve Ambedkar’s dream for equality in all walks of life.
The CJI appealed to judges from the SC, high courts and senior advocates, who were present in the audience, to reflect on how to make the legal profession more inclusive.
He also expressed concern over lesser representation of women in higher judiciary and said this could not be remedied overnight as the selection of judges had to be done from the available pool.
He said that in several states, at the district level, over 70-80% of fresh recruits were women but they remained under-represented in higher judiciary.
He said the issue would be discussed and steps taken to increase the available pool in the next 10-15 years.
Elaborating on challenges faced by marginalised sections of society, the CJI said, “CLAT examination, which is the bedrock for entering the legal profession, is entirely conducted in English. Now, with the very fact that the medium of examination is in English, we are making our profession urban-centric and wholly and completely biased against those who come from rural or marginalised backgrounds.
“Bringing social justice to the marginalised is not the project of the marginalised alone. Just like bringing gender justice is not a project only for women but it is a project for all of us. In that sense, I think we are all reforming ourselves and healing ourselves in our effort to heal society.”
Speaking on the occasion, SC judge B R Gavai said Ambedkar’s dream of an equal society had not been achieved yet and added that it was time to pledge to put in all efforts to achieve political and social equality.
