Women lawyers in Karnataka will now play a key role in the management of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru (AAB), after the Supreme Court decision on Friday directed that the post of treasurer in the upcoming AAB elections be reserved exclusively for women and ordered that women must constitute at least 30% of the association’s governing council (GC).
The bench, comprising justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, emphasised the need to ensure gender parity in bar associations, noting that it was “high time” to provide women with adequate representation in elected legal bodies. The ruling aligns with similar measures introduced last year for the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA), and Delhi district bar associations.
The decision came in response to petitions filed by women lawyers from Karnataka, both individually and under the Karnataka Federation of Women Lawyers, who sought reservations in the AAB elections scheduled for February 2. The petitioners highlighted the precedent set by the Supreme Court in its previous orders regarding women’s representation in Delhi-based bar associations.
“Since there is necessity to maintain parity and it is high time to provide representation to women… we are prima facie of the view that there is no legal impediment for granting them the same,” the bench observed.
Previously, the Karnataka high court dismissed the women lawyers’ plea on January 8, reasoning that the Supreme Court’s intervention in Delhi bar associations was possible only under its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution. The apex court overturned this decision.
During the hearing, the Karnataka State Bar Council opposed reserving the treasurer’s post for women, but the Supreme Court dismissed this objection. Justice Kant remarked: “Finance ministry and everywhere else we are giving charge to women,” underscoring the importance of women’s participation in leadership roles.
The court also noted that AAB’s regulations and byelaws neither prohibited nor addressed reservations for women, creating no legal barrier to their implementation. Invoking its powers under Article 142, the court ordered the treasurer’s post to be reserved for women and mandated that at least 30% of the GC must consist of women lawyers with at least 10 years of practice.
To accommodate these changes, the court directed the high-powered committee overseeing the elections to extend the nomination deadline, ensuring sufficient time for women candidates to file their applications.