Justice Ramesh Kumari’s oath pushes Punjab and Haryana HC to record 18 woman judges

For the first time since its establishment more than a century ago, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has 18 women judges, with Justice Ramesh Kumari being administered the oath as an additional judge by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu. The previous highest number of woman judges in the high court was 13.

Justice Kumari’s elevation came a little over a month after her retirement as Ropar District and Sessions Judge. Her appointment was made possible as her name had already been cleared by the high court collegium before her superannuation. With her elevation, the strength of judges has gone up to 60 against the sanctioned strength of 85.

The oath was administered at a simple yet impressive ceremony attended by sitting and retired judges, bureaucrats, relatives, and members of the legal fraternity. The appointment is as part of a concerted institutional push to reduce a pendency of approximately 4,33,720 cases — an effort that the high court has been steadily pursuing over the past several months.

The unprecedented presence of 18 women judges marks a significant shift in the institution’s composition. Available information suggests greater gender representation on the bench is bound to bring a more sensitive and inclusive approach in cases concerning women, children, and issues of gender justice. It is also seen as a step towards balancing perspectives within the judiciary and making the system more reflective of the society it serves.

The woman judges in the high court are: Justice Lisa Gill, Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul, Justice Alka Sarin, Justice Meenakshi I. Mehta, Justice Archana Puri, Justice Lapita Banerji, Justice Nidhi Gupta, Justice Amarjot Bhatti, Justice Manisha Batra, Justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan, Justice Sukhvinder Kaur, Justice Sudeepti Sharma, Justice Kirti Singh, Justice Mandeep Pannu, Justice Rupinderjit Chahal, Justice Shalini Singh Nagpal, Justice Aaradhna Sawhney, and Justice Ramesh Kumari.

The appointment comes against the backdrop of growing anticipation that names of advocates for elevation to the bench may be forwarded in the coming weeks —promising to infuse the judiciary with long-overdue representation from the Bar.

Despite the urgency, the judicial appointment process remains a protracted affair, involving clearance at multiple levels — first by the respective state governments, followed by governors, then the Supreme Court collegium, and finally the Union Ministry of Law and Justice. The process typically stretches over several months, slowing down efforts to fill vacancies even as judicial work continues to pile up.

The high court, however, continues to face infrastructural constraints. At present, it has only 69 operational courtrooms. “This dissuades the high court from working full strength,” Chief Justice Nagu had observed in an order last week, urging the UT Administration “to take a pragmatic view and allow the high court to expand infrastructurally by giving approval to the holistic plan, be it restrictively”.