CJI calls on HC collegiums to consider female lawyers of SC for judgeship
New Delhi (PTI): Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday batted for greater institutional reforms in the judiciary to bring more women into the legal field and said that high court collegiums should consider meritorious women members of the Bar for judgeship as a norm and not as an exception.
Addressing an event, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) underlined that members of the Bar must acknowledge and accept a simple reality: women members are not seeking concessions.
"They are seeking fair and appropriate representation, which has long been due. Only when the profession itself internalises this truth, will the pathway to the Bench become clearer," he said to applause from women lawyers and members of the judiciary at the first national conference of Indian Women in Law on the topic "Half the Nation – Half the Bench Bridge the gap – Balance the Bench.
The CJI requested the high court collegiums to widen the zone of their consideration and include women advocates from their states who are practising in the Supreme Court for elevation.
CJI Kant said if progress is to be meaningful, it must be institutionalised. The story should not be that one individual secured greater representation, but it should be that the Supreme Court and the high courts across the country consciously embedded fairness into their processes.
"We must all understand that reform of this nature is not an event; it is a continuous process. The cultivation of institutional fairness requires persistence beyond individual tenures and beyond individual personalities. It may not reach full fruition within my term of office, nor within that of my sister or brother judges. That, however, cannot and should not determine the depth of our commitment," he said.
CJI Kant added that when that happens, representation will no longer depend on personalities or moments of resolve -- it will stand anchored in the structure of the institution itself, and that, ultimately, is how enduring change is made.
He said that an area of reform lies within the high court collegiums and they must recognise that the moment for measured action is not in the future, but it is now.
"Where suitable, meritorious women members of the Bar are available, their consideration should not be an exception; it should be the norm. And where, in certain high courts or districts, suitable candidates within a particular age bracket are not immediately available, that should not become a barrier. I earnestly request the high court collegiums to widen the zone of their consideration and include women advocates practising in the Supreme Court who belong to that state, for elevation," he said.
Senior advocates Shobha Gupta and Mahalakshmi Pavani, who are associated with the organisation, 'Indian Women in Law', welcomed the guests. Among them were former CJI NV Ramana and other serving judges of the apex court, including Justice BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan.
The CJI highlighted that multiple women are currently serving as Chief Justices of different high courts, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court has as many as 18 sitting women judges.
Similarly, the Madras and Bombay High Courts also have about a dozen female judges each, he said.
CJI Kant pointed out that equally significant is the encouraging scenario in the district judiciary which offers perhaps the clearest indication of what lies ahead.
"With women comprising approximately 36.3 per cent of the working strength of judicial officers at the district level, the foundation is steadily strengthening.
"Friends, this is not a simple statistic; I would argue it reflects a generational shift. If we speak of a pipeline, it is here that it is visibly widening. And when the base of the system reflects greater inclusion, it is only a matter of time before that strength finds expression in the higher judiciary," he said.
The CJI said these developments indicate that the momentum has begun and the environment has been created.
"And with steadily increasing numbers of women entering and excelling in the legal profession, it is both natural and necessary that their presence on the Bench grows suitably. Yet we must guard against complacency. While momentum is encouraging, it is not complete," he said.
At the outset, CJI Kant lauded the journey of women in legal fields and said, “It is worth recalling that barely a century ago, under the regressive colonial regime, women in this country were not even permitted to practise law. The distance travelled since then has been substantive, but it has not been accidental."
He said women often bring distinct insights shaped by how law operates in homes, workplaces and everyday realities and consequently, their presence does not merely add diversity to the Bench, it deepens the court’s engagement with the society it serves.
"The legal profession, over time, has unwittingly developed a working climate that imposes invisible costs disproportionately on women. From late-night briefings and inadequate facilities to unreported workplace bias and repeated questioning of authority. These are daily realities that, I am sure, all of you are all too familiar with.
"And yet, despite these burdens, countless brilliant women have excelled in this profession because they believe in its ethos," he said.
CJI Kant said every woman who takes her place on the Bench sends a clear message to those still facing these obstacles that your perseverance is not unseen and it is not in vain.
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Nepal mountaineers worried amid fake rescue insurance scam
Kathmandu (PTI): Nepal's mountaineering community has expressed serious concern over a USD 20 million insurance scam, even as police on Friday dismissed as "misleading" media reports alleging that some foreign tourists were deliberately given poisonous food to facilitate fraudulent rescue operations.
As the spring climbing season for Mount Everest opened this week, Nepal Police's Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) said that ongoing investigations have not found any evidence to support allegations of food poisoning being used to facilitate fake rescue operations.
"We would like to state the fact that the investigation so far has not revealed any instance of toxic substances being adulterated in food," said the CIB, which conducted months-long investigation into the fake mountain rescue operations involving helicopter operators, trekking agencies and hospitals.
"Misleading and untrue news has been published in national and international media, as well as on social media platforms, based on unverified content," the Himalayan Times newspaper reported, citing a statement issued by the CIB.
The CIB has charged 32 people over the fake insurance scam. These people were freed after taking bail, said CIB spokesperson Shiva Kumar Shrestha. The CIB had filed a case at the Kathmandu District Court, which slapped fines on the 32 individuals.
However, the magnanimity of the fraud hangs over the country as the spring climbing season starts.
"We are conducting investigation regarding the fake rescue operation allegedly being conducted by some travel operators in the Everest region and if found guilty, action will be taken," said Director General of Nepal's Tourism Department Ramkrishna Lamichhane.
"Also, we are trying our best to make sure such fake rescue operations do not happen in the days to come," Lamichhane said.
The Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) came down heavily on the alleged practice, saying the mountaineering community as a whole does not encourage such activity.
In a press statement issued on Friday, the association said such allegations are "unimaginable" for expedition operators and stakeholders involved in Nepal's mountaineering sector. It stressed that Nepal has long maintained a strong global reputation as a safe and reliable destination for climbers.
The association called on the government to take strict action if any unethical or inhumane practices are proven, while cautioning that unverified reports could harm the country's image at the start of the peak spring climbing season.
“We discourage such fake rescues in the mountains and urge the government to take strong action against those found guilty,” said NMA president Phur Gelje Sherpa.
“No doubt, there may be a few bad persons who are doing these illegal things, but the mountaineering community as a whole doesn't encourage such activity,” he said while demanding that the government adopt a proper policy to prevent such illegal activity.
Dendi Sherpa, a three-time Everest summitter, said, “Because of the bad conduct of a few people, real climbers like us have to suffer.”
“This will very much have a negative impact on our climbing business. The government should be strict in implementing rules and regulations to control such illegal acts,” he told PTI.
Mount Everest, the world's highest peak at 8,848.86 metres, and scores of other Himalayan peaks continue to be a big draw for mountaineers and adventure lovers from the world over, year after year, since its first ascent in 1953.
Mountaineering, especially for Mt Everest, royalty fees and a large mountain community dependent on mountaineering and related tourism in the region, is a good revenue stream for the Himalayan nation.
Till 2025, more than 8,000 Nepalese and foreign climbers have successfully summited Mt Everest.
In January, Nepal police arrested six officials of tour operators and mountain rescue agencies for their involvement in the fake rescue scam that defrauded international insurance companies of nearly USD 20 million.
In some cases, trekkers with minor altitude-related discomfort were allegedly pressured into helicopter evacuations. In others, multiple patients were transported in a single flight but billed separately to different insurance companies at full cost.
According to the CIB investigators, the accused staged medical emergencies to justify costly helicopter evacuations, which were then falsely claimed from international travel insurance providers.
Fake rescues not only generate illegal profits but also damage Nepal's international reputation and could jeopardise insurance facilities in the country, the CIB had asserted then.
The CIB in January said that their investigation showed that Mountain Rescue Service Pvt Ltd conducted 1,248 rescues, of which 171 were allegedly fake, resulting in insurance claims exceeding USD 10.3 million.
Nepal Charter Service Pvt Ltd carried out 471 rescues, including 75 fake cases, claiming USD 8.2 million, while Everest Experience and Assistance Pvt Ltd conducted 601 rescues, with 71 fraudulent cases involving claims of USD 1.15 million.
In total, 317 fake rescues were detected out of 2,320 operations, leading to fraudulent insurance claims of nearly USD 20 million, the bureau said.
