SC directs States, High Courts to provide exclusive bar rooms for women lawyers at all court levels

The Supreme Court has directed all States and High Courts to provide exclusive bar rooms for women advocates, equipped with washrooms and basic amenities, in district, sub-divisional and taluka courts wherever women lawyers practise, irrespective of their numbers.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the facilities must be made available wherever women advocates practise and stressed that the mandate should be implemented without dilution.

“This is the mandate. We don’t want to deviate from that,” the CJI said while hearing the matter in Sarika Tyagi v. Union of India.

The court directed States to provide the necessary funds and land wherever required, while asking High Court infrastructure committees to accord priority to the implementation of the directive.

The facilities should preferably follow a uniform pattern across the country to ensure that women lawyers have access to dedicated spaces and essential amenities in court complexes, the court indicated.

The bench also designated Attorney General R Venkataramani as the nodal authority to consolidate progress reports from the States and High Courts and coordinate compliance with the directions.

The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for December 2.

The directive seeks to ensure that women advocates have access to dedicated bar rooms and functional washrooms at all levels of the district judiciary, without the availability of such facilities being determined by the number of women practising at a particular court.