The Supreme Court has clarified the order regarding women’s reservation in the Delhi Bar Association. It has established a requirement of 10 years of practice for half of the reserved seats.
The Supreme Court has made it clear that half of the 30% of Executive Committee (EC) positions set aside for women lawyers in Delhi’s District Bar Associations must be filled by those with more than 10 years of experience, while the other half can be filled without this requirement. This clarification was provided by Justice Surya Kant and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh on Monday, February 17, changing previous orders. Initially, on December 19, 2024, the Court had mandated that 30% of EC positions, including the Treasurer, be reserved for women. On January 7, it was decided that the 10-year experience rule would not apply to the Treasurer’s role. However, there were concerns that younger women lawyers could run for Treasurer but not for other reserved EC roles, like Lady Member Executive, which are more ceremonial.
To address this issue, the Court has now stated:
- The eligibility for the Treasurer’s position will follow the by-laws of the respective District Bar Association.
- Of the 30% EC seats reserved for women, 15% must be filled by women with at least 10 years of practice, while the other 15% can be filled without this restriction.
- Election Commissioners will allow two days for new nominations based on the updated order.
- The Election Commissioners can round off the women’s reservation to ensure it reaches 30% of the total EC seats.
The Court instructed that the Election Commissioners will provide two days for women candidates to submit new nominations according to the updated order and have the authority to round off the women’s reservation to a maximum of 30% of the total Executive Member seats.
On November 18, 2024, the Apex Court criticized the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) for claiming that some women advocates were unjustly demanding one-third of the seats on the executive committee, given that the number of women in the Bar was lower. The Court was reviewing three Special Leave Petitions from women advocates who were requesting this reservation. On September 26, 2024, the Court instructed the DHCBA to hold a general meeting within ten days to discuss the possibility of reserving positions. The Court suggested that the treasurer’s position be set aside specifically for women members and also considered reserving another officer position for women. The Court stated that out of ten executive members, at least three should be women, and one of these women should ideally be a Senior Designated Advocate.
Previously, on November 13, 2024, the Court had requested the DHCBA to provide a video recording of the general meeting where the proposal to reserve positions for women was turned down.
Cause Title: Fozia Rahman v. Bar Council of Delhi [SLP(C) 24485/2024]
