Sitting Women Judges of Supreme Court: It was in October 1980, almost four decades after its establishment, the Supreme Court appointed its first woman judge in Justice Fatima Beevi. As three female judges were sworn-in on August 31, the number of sitting women judges in the Supreme Court rose to four, the highest ever in history. Previously, the highest number was three when Justices R Banumathi, Indira Banerjee and Malhotra served from Aug 2018 to May 2020. Justices Hima Kohli, BV Nagarathna and Bela M Trivedi are the newly appointed women judges in the Supreme Court. They will be serving along with Justice Indira Banerjee.
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Meet the four sitting women judges in Supreme Court
1. Justice Hima Kohli
The first female Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, Hima Kohli is the ninth woman to be elevated to the Supreme Court in the last 70 years. She is known for her firm approach in enforcing executive accountability and defending the rights of women. In 2006, Justice Kohli was appointed as an additional judge in the Delhi High Court. She became a permanent judge next year. On her first day as a sitting judge, she shared the bench with Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah.
2. Justice BV Nagarathna
Justice BV Nagarathna is the daughter of the former Chief Justice of India ES Venkataramiah. If appointments take place according to the seniority turn, she might become the first female Chief Justice of India in Sep 2027 and India will finally have a woman at the post. In the farewell speech that she delivered on Aug 27, she had said that if women get access to the right opportunities, they can achieve their dreams. She urged all of them to seek the opportunities and have faith in themselves. On the first day, she shared the bench with Justice L Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose.
3. Justice Bela M Trivedi
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Justice Bela M Trivedi served as the Law Secretary to the Gujarat Government from 2003 to 2006. She is the first woman judge from the Gujarat High Court to be appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court. On Feb 17, 2011, she was elevated to the High Court as an additional judge. In June 2011, she was transferred as an additional judge of the Rajasthan High Court. Justice Trivedi was transferred back to the Gujarat High Court in 2016. She shared the bench with Justices Indira Banerjee and V Ramasubramanian on her first day as a sitting judge.
4. Justice Indira Banerjee
Justice Indira Banerjee was appointed as a permanent judge at the Calcutta High Court on February 5, 2002. She was transferred to the Delhi High Court in August 2016. Banerjee assumed charge as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court on April 5, 2017. She was the second woman in India to hold the position. In 2018, she was elevated as the Judge of the Supreme Court of India. She is the eighth female judge in the history of Supreme Court and was the only female judge there till the entry of the new sitting women judges.
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