सुप्रीम कोर्ट में दायर याचिका से बार काउंसिल ऑफ़ इंडिया में 30% महिलाएँ प्रतिनिधित्व की माँग

Plea In Supreme Court Seeks 30% Women Representation In Bar Council Of India Like State Bar Councils

LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK

18 Sept 2026 5:44 PM IST

A plea has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking directions to ensure at least 30% representation of women in the Bar Council of India (BCI), contending that the gender-representation reforms recently directed by the Court for State Bar Councils should be extended to the apex statutory body governing the legal profession.

The application has been filed by Yogamaya M.G. in the pending proceedings concerning elections to the State Bar Councils. It seeks further directions for the expeditious reconstitution of the BCI and for ensuring gender-inclusive governance of the apex regulatory body.

The applicant, pointing out that the State Bar Councils are being constituted with 30% women representation as mandated by the Supreme Court, seeks replicating the same measure in the BCI.

The plea relies on the Supreme Court's August 4, 2026 order under which the Court directed that women should have a minimum 30% representation in every State Bar Council comprising 20% seats through direct election and 10% through co-option

Under the mechanism laid down by the Court, two women are to be co-opted to each State Bar Council by the Chief Justice of the jurisdictional High Court, after consultation with the elected members. The eligible categories include former women High Court judges and senior women members of the Bar.

The present application argues that the reform could remain confined to the State level because of the manner in which the BCI is constituted under Section 4(1) of the Advocates Act, 1961

The provision provides for the Attorney General for India and Solicitor General of India as ex-officio members, along with one member elected by each State Bar Council from amongst its members.The applicant points out that since each State Bar Council sends only one elected representative to the BCI, the 30% representation achieved at the State level would not automatically translate into 30% representation in the BCI.

The application states that, as a result, the BCI could potentially have no elected woman member, or only one or two women members, despite every State Bar Council having 30% women representation. It therefore seeks an interim constitutional mechanism to carry the representation achieved at the State level into the BCI.

As one possible mechanism, the applicant has proposed that 30% of the BCI's members could be women nominated from different State Bar Councils on a rotational basis, with one set of State Bar Councils sending women representatives initially and another set replacing them after two years.

The plea has also sought directions concerning the leadership of the BCI. It proposes that, as a transitional measure, the office of Chairperson of the Bar Council of India be reserved for a woman, preferably a retired woman High Court judge or a distinguished woman advocate. It further seeks reservation of the offices of Secretary and Treasurer of the BCI for women for two consecutive terms. Similar directions have been sought for the offices of Secretary and Treasurer in the State Bar Councils.

The plea also refers to the Supreme Court's September 2, 2026 order, under which the newly constituted State Bar Councils are to elect their office bearers and one member from among their members for nomination to the BCI under Section 4(1)(c) of the Advocates Act. The Court had also indicated that the question of constitution of the BCI under Section 4 would be taken up after receipt of compliance reports.

The applicant has accordingly urged the Supreme Court to ensure that the forthcoming reconstitution of the BCI is carried out in a time-bound manner and in a way that gives effect to the gender-representation principles already applied to State Bar Councils.

The application has been filed through Advocate Deepak Prakash.

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