Pointing to the gender demographic shift in the judges in the judiciary at district level across the country, the Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud on Saturday said that an increasing number of women are joining the district judiciary with Kerala in a leading position with 72 per cent of judges being women.

Describing the changing gender dynamics with increasing number of women joining the judiciary, a picture of a promising judiciary of the future, the Chief Justice Chandrachud said, “Women consisted of 58 per cent of the total recruitment for Civil Judges in Rajasthan in 2023. 66 per cent of the judicial officers appointed in Delhi in 2023 were women. In Uttar Pradesh, 54 per cent of the appointments for Civil Judge (Junior Division) in the batch of 2022 were women. In Kerala, 72 per cent of the total number of judicial officers are women.”

“These are a few examples which paint the picture of a promising judiciary of the future,” the CJI said, pointing out that one of the sessions of the conference will address gender dynamics in the judiciary as well as the need to ensure an inclusive workplace.

Speaking at the inaugural function of the National Conference of the District Judiciary, Chief Justice Chandrachud, while pointing to the changing gender equation in the district judiciary, expressed concern over the incident of disrespect with a young female judge.

Narrating the experiences shared by a young district judge from a rural court, stating that while most members of the bar were respectful, a few lawyers frequently addressed her disrespectfully and with condescension, the Chief Justice said that the situation appeared to arise “solely due to her age and gender” and exhorted the gathering that “Such instances can be disheartening. Your support to your younger colleagues at such times would be invaluable and would strengthen the fabric of the judicial institution.”

The inaugural function of the two-day conference of the District Judiciary was also attended by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Describing the district judiciary is the first point of contact for a citizen in search of justice and more often, the final point of contact for citizens, CJI said, “The reasons may be numerous – many citizens are unable to afford legal representation, they have a lack of awareness about statutory rights, and there are geographical difficulties in physically accessing courts. The quality of our work and the conditions in which we provide justice to citizens determines whether they have confidence in us and is a test of our own accountability to society.”

The district judiciary, CJI said, is therefore called upon to shoulder tremendous responsibility and is aptly described as the ‘backbone of the judiciary’.

Referring to the increasing use of technologies in the functioning of the courts and case management at all levels of judiciary, CJI Chandrachud said, “Each one of us must be alive to the fact that merely purchasing technological devices is insufficient in the mission to ensure that courts are citizen-centric. Rather, we must embrace and implement technological processes by utilising the technology at our disposal and ensuring their full use in our work.”

Underlining embracing, implementing and utilising the technologies, Chief Justice Chandrachud said, “I speak from personal experience when I say that this will not only benefit citizens and other stakeholders in the legal system but will also ensure that our work as judges is conducted with greater efficiency. After the adoption of the ‘Parichay’ application at the Supreme Court, I no longer use a pen to sign or mark the administrative files which require my attention. I instead review and approve files using my computer. This has created a smoother workflow for the Registrars at the court as well.”

Chief Justice Chandrachud said, “It is my sincere hope that this conference will elicit deep thought on how we can reshape our values and thought processes, put existing skills to use, learn new skills, and all in all, improve the manner in which the district court’s function.”