New Delhi/Chandigarh, Jan 16: The Supreme Court has directed that a 30% reservation for women advocates be implemented in the upcoming Bar Council elections for Punjab and Haryana. The order, delivered on Friday by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, reverses a previous exemption granted to the two states and ensures that women lawyers are adequately represented in these professional bodies.
The Bench, which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi, noted that the election process in Punjab and Haryana has not yet formally commenced, as only the final voter lists have been published. This status made it appropriate to apply the reservation requirement that had already been mandated for other states. “We are satisfied that our direction in paragraph 4 of the order dated 8 December 2025, to the extent of the words ‘Punjab & Haryana’, is liable to be deleted,” the court stated, adding that the quota will now apply to the ensuing polls.
Under the new arrangement, 20% of the seats will be filled through the direct election of women members, while an additional 10% will be filled through a co-option process. The court mentioned that if the number of elected women falls short of the required percentage, specific proposals for co-option must be placed before the judiciary for review. The Bench also pushed the deadline for concluding these elections to April 30, 2026, to accommodate the necessary administrative changes.
While the court acted to ensure gender parity, it cautioned against overstepping into policy-making following a request for even higher proportionate representation in states like Maharashtra. The Chief Justice noted that any blanket order issued under the court’s inherent powers could have unintended consequences. Instead, the Bench has sought the assistance of the Attorney General and the Additional Solicitor General to examine the possibility of increasing the total number of elected members in state bar councils to reflect the rising population of advocates nationwide.
