Despite recent appointments, women remain under-represented in India's higher judiciary. Analyse the causes and suggest institutional reforms.

Two women were recommended to the Supreme Court in 2026: senior advocate V. Mohana, elevated directly from the Bar, and Justice Sunita Agarwal [1]. Justice B.V. Nagarathna is also in line to become India's first woman CJI in 2027 [1]. Even so, only 6 women have been appointed to the SC since 2014 [2]. The recent gains rest on a narrow and structurally constrained pipeline.

Causes of under-representation

• Thin feeder pool: since 2014 only 170 women have been appointed to the High Courts, and the HCs are the main source of SC judges [2].
• Seniority-driven route: the Collegium mostly elevates HC Chief Justices and senior HC judges [1]. Women who join the Bench late or with little seniority rarely become Chief Justices, so they seldom reach the SC shortlist.
• Opaque selection: the Collegium is judge-made (Second Judges Case, 1993) and works without published criteria. The Memorandum of Procedure is still not finalised and does not make diversity a stated goal.
• No data: the Parliamentary Standing Committee (2023) found that the representation of women, SC/ST and minorities is well below desired levels. For example, only 3% SC and 1.5% ST HC appointees since 2018 [3]. Without data on judges' social profiles, progress cannot be measured [3].
• Structural barriers: fewer women reach senior practice at the Bar, and many carry heavier caregiving responsibilities, which narrows the pool at every level.

Institutional reforms

• Collegium mandate: SC and HC Collegiums should actively recommend an adequate number of women and candidates from marginalised groups [3].
• Diversity data: the Department of Justice should collect and publish data on the social status of serving judges [3].
• Use the Bar route: make more use of the "10-year advocate" limb of Art. 124(3), as with V. Mohana [1]. This bypasses the seniority queue.
• Finalise the MoP: include diversity as a stated criterion and fixed timelines. This works within judicial primacy and respects the 2015 NJAC verdict.
• Widen the pipeline: encourage the elevation of women from the district judiciary and designate more women as Senior Advocates.

Under-representation comes from the structure of the pipeline, not from any shortage of merit. Making diversity measurable and building it into how the Collegium selects judges, while keeping judicial primacy, would help Art. 14's promise of equality and SDG 5 and 16 show up on the Bench.