Mahalakshmi Pavani

Data dictates that just over 11 percent of our High Court judges are women, several states have only one woman on the bench. The Supreme Court’s seven years minimum ‘continuous practice’ requirement for district judge appointments, which overlooks the fallouts of invisible care work by women lawyers in domestic set-ups, may be one of the reasons. On several broader aspects, the legal community must introspect.

Misuse of provisions against cruelty by husband and his relatives and dowry demands not only results in the suffering of the innocent but also takes away focus from genuine cases of domestic abuse, argues Mahalakshmi Pavani.