The Supreme Court on Monday (December 8, 2025) directed that in the state bar councils where the election process has not started, 30 percent seats should be reserved for women lawyers.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said that for the current year, in the State Bar Councils where elections are yet to be held, 20 percent seats should be filled by women candidates and if there are not many lawyers willing to contest the elections, then 10 percent seats should be filled through special selection (co-option).
In the context of the election of members of the Bar Council, ‘co-selection’ is the process by which the existing or newly elected members of the Council select additional members by voting among themselves, instead of direct and general election by all the members of the Bar.
The Supreme Court directed that a proposal for special selection will be placed before the court in respect of those State Bar Councils where the number of women lawyers contesting the elections is inadequate. At the beginning, senior advocate and President of Bar Council of India (BCI) Manan Kumar Mishra informed the bench that as per the prior direction of the court, the election process has started in six bodies with the notification of elections.
He said that in principle the BCI is of the view that there should be at least 30 percent reservation for women in the State Bar Councils and suggested that for the current year the Councils should be allowed to fill the posts by including women candidates.
He also proposed that 15 percent seats be filled through special selection of women members. However, the bench said that it would be appropriate that the special selection be limited to only 10 percent seats. The bench said that it would not be prudent to reserve seats for women in those Bar Councils where the election process has already started.
The Supreme Court was hearing petitions by advocates Yogmaya MG and Shehla Chaudhary, demanding reservation of one-third seats for women in all state bar councils. Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for the petitioners, said that the order to implement 30 percent women’s reservation uniformly in all the state bar councils cannot be practical, because the percentage of women lawyers is very low in many states.
On December 4, the Supreme Court had asked BCI to ensure 30 percent reservation for women in the upcoming State Bar Council elections. In the petitions filed by Yogmaya and Chaudhary, it was also demanded that at least one post of officer should be reserved for women lawyers on a sequential basis.
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