Who Was The First Woman Judge Of Supreme Court? Check More About Female Judges In Apex Court History

There have been very few women judges in the Supreme Court as compared to men. There is currently only one woman judge in the Supreme Court after Justice Indu Malhotra retired recently.

Supreme Court of India | File Image

New Delhi: Nine new judges will soon be appointed to the country's highest judicial body, the Supreme Court. The Centre approved all the nine names sent by the collegium headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana. Among the nine names sent for approval, three of them are women judges.

Of the total 34 posts of judges in the Supreme Court, 33 posts will be filled after these appointments.

Find out what has been the status of women judges in the Supreme Court so far, as far as their numbers are concerned.

Women Judges In Supreme Court

There have been few women judges in the Supreme Court as compared to their male counterparts. There is currently one woman judge in the Supreme Court after Justice Indu Malhotra retired recently. Justice Indira Banerjee will retire next year. She was appointed in 2018.

Justice Fathima Beevi: First Woman SC Judge

Justice Fathima Beevi, appointed in 1989, was the first female judge of the Supreme Court. The second woman judge was Justice Sujata V Manohar, who was promoted to the Supreme Court in 1994. Justice Ruma Pal followed Justice Manohar and came to the Supreme Court in the year 2000. After Ruma Pal retired, there was a long gap before Justice Sudha Mishra was appointed in 2010. Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2011. Justice R Banumathi was promoted to the Supreme Court in 2014.

All these women judges have been part of judgments and verdicts in various important cases relating to public, private law, and governance. However, even after 70 years of the existence of the Supreme Court, no woman judge has become the chief justice of India yet.