The Supreme Court on Tuesday (January 27, 2026) refused to hear the PIL seeking reservation for lawyers belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in various state bar councils.
The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice R Mahadevan and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said that the election process has started and this petition was filed late. He said that such demands for elections are too late.
During the hearing, lawyers for the petitioners cited an earlier Supreme Court order mandating representation for women lawyers in various state bar councils. Counsel for the petitioners, including Ram Kumar Gautam, argued that orders had been issued on representation of women lawyers in various state bar councils while the Advocates Act, 1961 has nothing to say on the issue of reservation or representation.
The Chief Justice said, ‘You are everywhere. In the judiciary, among lawyers, in Parliament…the Bar Council has been there since 1961, and you have done nothing. Just because the Supreme Court did something for women, you are here now! You just want it served on a plate.’
Clarifying on the scope of the earlier directions, the Chief Justice said the bench did not grant reservation to women lawyers but mandated their representation to address the long-standing problem of under-representation.
The Chief Justice said, ‘We have not given reservation for women; This is just a representation. He also said that the relief given to women lawyers is the result of a continuous litigation for a long time. He criticized the petitioners for coming to the court after the election process had started. The Chief Justice said, ‘You can contact us for the next elections.’
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