women judges in the Supreme Court are fewer in number and have shorter tenures
With the retirement of Justice Abhay S. Oka on May 24, 2025, the strength of the Supreme Court is now at 31, from a sanctioned strength of 34 judges. Only two female judges are part of the full bench at present, of which Justice Bela M. Trivedi is set to retire on June 9, 2025, her last working day being May 16, 2025. That leaves Justice B.V. Nagarathna as the lone woman judge in the top court.
In fact, until now, there have been only 11 female Supreme Court judges, which accounts for just 4% of a total of 279 judges who have presided over the Supreme Court of India since January 28, 1950, when the Court came into being.
Viewing the tenures of these 11 judges, what is evident is that at any given time, the Supreme Court has never had more than four women justices. In fact, the very first instance of the Supreme Court having more than one woman judge at the same time was on 13 September, 2011, when Justice Ranjana P. Desai was elevated to the apex Court while Justice Gyan Sudha Misra was active (she had been a Supreme Court justice since April 30, 2010). This lasted until April 27, 2014, when Justice Gyan Sudha Misra retired.
As shown in the graphic below, it would not be until August 7, 2018 when the Supreme Court would comprise of three female judges for the first time. This lasted for almost two years, until Justice R. Banumathi's retirement on July 19, 2020.
Just over a year later, on August 31, 2021, the Supreme Court would comprise of four female judges for the first time: Justice Indira Banerjee, Justice Hima Kohli, Justice B.V. Nagarathna, and Justice Bela M. Trivedi.
The top Court is yet to see five female judges at the same time.
Higher age of appointment of female judges
The median age appointment of female judges is 61, whereas that of male judges is 59, as shown in the graphic below where each point represents a judge.
Judges of the Supreme Court must retire upon attaining the age of 65, as per Article 124 of the Constitution of India. With the median age of appointment of female judges and male judges differing, their tenures in the Supreme Court also differ. Female judges spend around six months less than male counterparts who are not elevated to the Chief Justice of India. The tenure of female judges is four years lesser than male judges who were elevated to the Chief Justice of India, as shown in the graphic below.
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Hence, statement 3 is not correct. — According to Article 95(1), the Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker if the post is vacant. The Deputy Speaker has the same general powers as the Speaker when presiding over the House. All references to the 'Speaker' in the Rules are deemed to be references to the Deputy Speaker as well for the times when he or she presides. Hence, statement 2 is correct. — Both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be appointed 'as soon as may be'. Article 93 states that 'The House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker'. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer. Daily Subject-wise quiz — History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 114) Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 113) Daily subject-wise quiz — Science and Technology (Week 113) Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 113) Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment and Geography (Week 113) Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 113) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. Manas Srivastava is currently working as Senior Copy Editor with The Indian Express (digital) and leads a unique initiative of IE - UPSC Essentials. He majorly writes on UPSC, other competitive exams and education-related projects. In the past, Manas has represented India at the G-20 Youth Summit in Mexico. He is a former member of the Youth Council, GOI. A two-time topper/gold medallist in History (both in graduation and post-graduation) from Delhi University, he has mentored and taught UPSC aspirants for more than four years. His diverse role in The Indian Express consists of writing, editing, anchoring/ hosting, interviewing experts, and curating and simplifying news for the benefit of students. He hosts the YouTube talk show called 'Art and Culture with Devdutt Pattanaik' and a LIVE series on Instagram and YouTube called 'You Ask We Answer'.His talks on 'How to read a newspaper' focus on newspaper reading as an essential habit for students. His articles and videos aim at finding solutions to the general queries of students and hence he believes in being students' editor, preparing them not just for any exam but helping them to become informed citizens. This is where he makes his teaching profession meet journalism. He is also the editor of UPSC Essentials' monthly magazine for the aspirants. He is a recipient of the Dip Chand Memorial Award, the Lala Ram Mohan Prize and Prof. Papiya Ghosh Memorial Prize for academic excellence. He was also awarded the University's Post-Graduate Scholarship for pursuing M.A. in History where he chose to specialise in Ancient India due to his keen interest in Archaeology. He has also successfully completed a Certificate course on Women's Studies by the Women's Studies Development Centre, DU. As a part of N.S.S in the past, Manas has worked with national and international organisations and has shown keen interest and active participation in Social Service. He has led and been a part of projects involving areas such as gender sensitisation, persons with disability, helping slum dwellers, environment, adopting our heritage programme. He has also presented a case study on 'Psychological stress among students' at ICSQCC- Sri Lanka. As a compere for seminars and other events he likes to keep his orating hobby alive. His interests also lie in International Relations, Governance, Social issues, Essays and poetry. ... Read More
