BackHigh hopes from Delhi high court’s first female chief justice
Delhi high court to have G. Rohini as its first woman chief justice after President Pranab Mukherjee approved her appointment on Friday
Premium
New Delhi/Hyderabad: Forty-seven years after it was established in October 1966 with four judges, the Delhi high court will have G. Rohini as its first woman chief justice after President Pranab Mukherjee approved her appointment on Friday.
A judge in the Andhra Pradesh high court, Rohini has presided over a range of cases from company and constitutional matters to criminal cases. In 2012, she was part of a two-judge bench that dismissed a writ petition filed by Y.S. Vijayamma, wife of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, to order an inquiry into the assets of Rajasekhara Reddy and Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu.
Judge Rohini’s elevation as Delhi’s first woman chief justice comes at a time when law and order issues and safety for women continue to be a concern. National Crime Records Bureau data consistently lists Delhi as recording the most crimes against women. In 2013, Delhi reported 5,194 cases, or 14.2% of the national share.
Despite setting up nine fast-track courts (FTC) in Delhi in January last year to tackle the rising incidence of crimes against women, the FTCs managed a conviction rate of only 32% as of June, according to data provided by the Directorate of Prosecution, government of NCT of Delhi, to The Wall Street Journal.
In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, law minister Kapil Sibal on 7 February this year said that as of 30 September 2012, 23,792 cases related to rape were pending in 21 high courts and till the end of September 2012, 924 rape cases were awaiting justice in Delhi.
Within the legal fraternity there is also discussion on the need for greater representation of women in the higher judiciary. “The Indian judiciary needs more women judges," Chief Justice of India (CJI) P. Sathasivam said before he was appointed as CJI on 19 July 2013.
“This appointment is a very important landmark, a welcome step as women currently occupy a disproportionately low number of judicial positions," said Asha Bajpai, dean of Centre for Law and Society at Mumbai’s Tata Institute for Social Sciences.
Of the 29 judges in the Supreme Court, only two are women: Gyan Sudha Misra and Ranjana Prakash Desai. There are around 650 judges in all the high courts across India; only 52 of them are women.
Those who have worked with Judge Rohini describe her as firm, but calm and gentle. “Justice Rohini is a combination of being firm and gentle. When you are overly assertive or loud, people get threatened, but because she is gentle, she might be able to make a dent," said Amita Dhanda, professor of law and dean (Academic) at National Academy of Legal Studies and Research at Hyderabad.
“As a chief justice, you get the opportunity to set the tone of the court. The way the CJ (chief justice) speaks becomes the tone of the court," Dhanda added.
In 2010-11, during the height of the Telangana agitation when state-owned buses remained off the roads, a state civil services aspirant from Medak district petitioned Justice Rohini pointing out the logistical difficulties in reaching his examination centre and requesting her intervention. She, in turn, asked how the petitioner managed to come to the state capital for the hearing, and dismissed the case.
A science graduate from Osmania University, Justice Rohini obtained her law degree after graduating from the College of Law, Andhra University. In 1980, she enrolled as an advocate and joined the office of senior advocate Koka Raghava Rao.
As a lawyer, Justice Rohini’s practice was mainly in the Andhra Pradesh high court and the administrative tribunals and civil courts. Appointed a government pleader in the state’s high court in 1995, she was in charge of departments including environment, consumer affairs, labour, employment and training. She was sworn in as a high court judge in 2002 and has also served on the high court Juvenile Justice Committee.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
