Current crisis in SC is an opportunity to address serious gender disparity on the bench

The present calamity in the judiciary, as unfortunate as it is, also provides an unprecedented opportunity to course correct on several accounts. Here’s hoping the men in power have the wisdom to seize it.

The judiciary is one of the least diverse institutions in this country with lack of gender diversity being the most visible yet ignored aspect. (Illustration by CR Sasikumar)

The Indian judiciary is facing its worst hour of crisis. The allegation of sexual harassment and victimisation levelled against the Chief Justice of India by a former Supreme Court staffer, followed by what can only be termed as a mockery of due process and law, has brought the judiciary to a tipping point. It is now left with no choice but to undertake a massive exercise in introspection and reform. Judicial reforms are no longer empty rhetoric. They are essential to keep the judiciary from becoming irrelevant and severed from the idea of justice. Nothing can be more damaging to this idea than going unheard and unrepresented before the judiciary — a fear that constantly plagues all disadvantaged sections of the society, especially women.