New Delhi: On Wednesday, a lawyer kept addressing Justice Rekha Palli of Delhi High Court as "sir". This resulted in an interesting exchange, with Justice Palli responding that she is not a sir, legal news website Live Law reported. "I am not Sir. I hope you can make that out", Justice Palli told the lawyer.
The lawyer responded, "Sorry, it's because of the Chair you are sitting in".
Retorting to the lawyer's response, Justice Palli said that is even worse if after all this time he thinks that the Chair is for sirs. "Then that's even worse if after all this time you think that the Chair is for Sirs. If the younger members don't stop differentiating, then what hope do we have for the future?", Justice Palli said.
There are fewer female judges in Indian courts compared to male judges, making the gender ratio in the Indian judiciary system unbalanced. Last year, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the appointment of more women judges in the courts was filed by an organisation of women lawyers, according to media reports.