There are only 80 female judges including SC and HC: Data

New Delhi: The number of female judges is lower comparitively male judges in the judiciary. In the monsoon session of Parliament, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad talked about number female judges in the Supreme Court and various high courts of the country.

There are a total of 1,113 judges, including the High Courts and the Supreme Court. Among which only 80 are female judges, constituting just 7.2% of its strength. There are only 2 judges Supreme Court, while 78 judges are in different High Courts. There are 34 Supreme Court judges in total.

According to the data shared, the highest number of women judges (11 out of 85) are in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. After this, the Madras High Court has 9 women judges out of 75. There are 8 women judges in the Mumbai and Delhi High Courts. There are no women judges in six High Court Manipur, Meghalaya, Patna, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Tripura. There are one female judge in 6 other High Courts.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the details of women judges in the tribunal are not maintained by the Center, as they are administered by various ministries / departments of the government. There is no central database of information of female judges in the subordinate judiciary, as the subject comes under the jurisdiction of high courts and state governments.

The judges of the High Court are appointed under Articles 217 and 224 of the Constitution of India, which do not provide reservation for any caste, person or class including women. The Government, however, has been requesting the Chief Justices of the High Courts to consider suitable candidates related to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Minorities and females while sending proposals for appointment of judges, added law minister.