On Friday, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud advised that Senior Advocates should refrain from hiring juniors to their chambers through personal connections, contacts, or networks.
Instead, the CJI suggested that Senior Advocates should consider inviting applications and conducting interviews to create a fair and equitable selection process. This approach, he noted, would enhance participation among women at the bar. He emphasized that women have thrived in various fields when given equal opportunities, and the judiciary is no exception.
"The problem with the legal profession is there is no level playing field. I request all Seniors to stop recruiting in senior chambers purely based on network, friends children etc. The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) can put out a list of seniors who would like to recruit and then applications can be made and interviews can be given. Level playing field shows that women will succeed," said the CJI.
CJI Chandrachud made these remarks during the farewell ceremony for Justice Hima Kohli, the ninth woman judge of the Supreme Court. He praised Justice Kohli for her sensitivity, exemplary judicial decision-making, and her efforts to highlight issues affecting women in the legal profession. Additionally, the CJI shared insights from his experiences with young judicial officers in Delhi during his address.
"Few days ago during Lok Adalat, there were people in my court who were young graduates. I asked who are these people? I was told they are young judicial officers from the Delhi judicial academy. I invited them for tea and learnt that 78 out of 108 recruits to the Delhi district judiciary are women. This shows spread of women education has spurred and it tells us where equal opportunity spaces are given women thrive and they succeed in district judiciary because there is a level playing field at the threshold," he said.
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