Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said there is a need to provide institutional support for the presence of more women lawyers in the country as well as in Tamil Nadu.
Addressing an event to inaugurate the District and Sessions Court and Chief Judicial Magistrate at Myladuthurai, the CJI said that very few women were practicing as lawyers in the courts and added that while there were 50,000 registered men in Tamil Nadu, the number of women was only 5,000.
He said legal chambers were skeptical about hiring women and added that family responsibilities were cited as a reason for singling out women.
The CJI urged all courts in the country to open crèches to provide equal opportunities to women lawyers. He urged the courts to follow the example of the Supreme Court of India and the Delhi High Court, where crèches already exist.
Justice Chandrachud has asked the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court to take an initiative to set up crèches in all High Courts as well as in all District Courts in the state.
The CJI said that women lawyers have not been recruited to the benches not because they lack talent and professionalism, but because of the family responsibilities involved. He said young male lawyers also need to take care of children and families.
He said: “As a society, we impose the responsibility of caring for families only on women, and then use the very bias against women that we hold to deny them opportunities.”
Highlighting the increase in starting remuneration for young lawyers, he said, “I have learned that the starting remuneration of young lawyers in Madurai region is in the range of Rs 5,000-12,000.”
The CJI said such low pay discourages members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women from pursuing full-time professions such as law. He said the law chambers justified poor pay for young lawyers by arguing that the first few years were a time for them to be trained and mentored by the chambers. He said, “Please give up this paternalistic approach.”
Justice Chandrachud said the entry-level barrier forced several law graduates to take up other jobs completely unrelated to their specialty so that they could achieve both goals.
The CJI stressed the need to expand infrastructure to provide better facilities for judicial officers. He also said that the judicial system is choked with pending cases and added that the Supreme Court of India has introduced a hybrid system in which lawyers can appear both physically and virtually.
He said that this institution provides a link between the judge sitting at Tilak Marg in New Delhi and the lawyer residing in Melur or Virdhunagar.
He said since the Supreme Court started live telecasting of all constitutional cases, it is helping law students of government law colleges in Madurai and Tiruchi to watch court proceedings and gain knowledge.
The Chief Justice of India said that during the Covid-19 pandemic, high courts and district judiciaries heard 2.62 million cases through video conferencing. Justice Chandrachud said that from March 23, 2022 to February 13, 2023, the Supreme Court heard 4,13,537 cases.
Union Law and Justice Minister Kiran Rajiju and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin were present on the occasion.
–IANS
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