News Analysis India

Tag: B V Nagarathna

  • Vaccination of inmates at shelter home: SC directs charitable trust to approach Ghaziabad DM

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked a charitable trust to approach the District Magistrate with its plea seeking directions for the vaccination of 13 inmates, who do not possess Aadhaar cards, of a shelter home at Loni in Ghaziabad district.

    A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and B V Nagarathna asked the Collector to scrutinise the grievance of the petitioners and, if it is found to be genuine, to ensure that necessary steps are taken for vaccinating the inmates without their being required to travel.

    “We must make it clear that since we are not issuing notice at this stage, there is no material in regard to the veracity or authenticity of the information which has been provided in the writ petition.

    “However, having regard to the nature of the grievance, the ends of justice would be served by permitting the petitioners to move the Collector and District Magistrate, Ghaziabad, together with a certified copy of this order,” the bench said.

    At the outset, the apex court made it clear that it was not inclined to issue notice at this stage as there is no material in regard to the veracity or authenticity of the information which has been provided in the writ petition.

    The top court, in its October 8 order, said it had no occasion to verify the correctness of the grievance or to comment on any of the factual aspects which have been adverted to in the petition, including the legal status of the Home.

    The apex court was hearing a plea filed by ‘Ek Ehsaas Foundation’ seeking directions for the vaccination of thirteen inmates of a shelter home maintained at Flat No 001, Plot No B-43, SLF, Ved Vihar, Loni, District Ghaziabad.

    The petitioner stated it is a registered charitable trust and among its objects, it maintains a home for orphans, destitute widows, abandoned and aged persons in Ghaziabad.

    The petitioner provides shelter to 13 inmates, some of them suffering dementia, some on wheelchair and others suffering from old age ailments.

    The trust told the bench that some of the inmates are stated to have Aadhaar cards and some were found abandoned in the street.

    In this backdrop, the plea stated that while a Covid-19 vaccination camp was held, the officials informed the petitioners that they could contact the State Government for remedial action.

  • Judicial appointment of women at senior levels can shift gender stereotypes: Justice Nagarathna

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Judge B V Nagarathna on Sunday said advancing women participation in judiciary promotes role of gender equality in broader ways and female judicial appointments, particularly at senior levels, can shift gender stereotypes, thereby changing attitude and perceptions of appropriate roles of men and women.

    Justice Nagarathna, who is set to become the first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027, said, “Women visibility as judicial officers can pave the way for greater representation of women in other decision-making positions such as legislative and executive branches of the government.” She was speaking at a function organised by the Lady Advocates of the Supreme Court for felicitation of nine newly appointed judges of the top court, which includes three women judges.

    Justice Nagarathna said, “I say, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana has shown the way as to why in other branches women cannot break the glass ceiling whether in the legislature or in the executive branches.”

    “I may not speak in detail but I can only say that advancing women participation in the judiciary promotes the role of gender equality in broader ways. Female judicial appointments particularly at senior levels can shift gender stereotypes, thereby changing attitude and perceptions of appropriate roles of men and women,” she said.

    Terming the appointment of nine judges at one go as a “monumental achievement” for the top court, she said, “Higher number and greater visibility of women judges can increase the willingness of women to seek justice and enforce their rights.”

    Justice Nagarathna said that the instant appointment should not be the only event and it should continue as “we the women members will scout for talent from all over India so that they get elevated not only at relevant high courts but also to the Supreme Court”.

    Advising young women advocates, she said that her advice to them is that they should involve themselves in all branches of law and continuously strive to do better.

    “I think, the time has come to break the glass ceiling and for women to strive ahead. I have come to believe that each one of us has a personal calling which is unique as our fingerprint and the best way to succeed is to discover what it is our passion and to find the way to offer it to others in the form of service”, she said.

    Justice Nagarathana said that there are three phenomenon which women lawyers should look at “when we are concerned about women in the bar and on the bench that is the very entry of women into the legal fraternity, secondly, the retention of women in the bar, which is a very important thing and critical aspect, and thirdly, the advancement of women later on to the higher echelons”.

    Another top court judge Justice Bela M Trivedi, who was appointed along with Justice Nagarathna, said that recently at a function in Gujarat she had said that judges do not have a gender when they are on the dais.

    But “I do have soft corner for women more particularly working women”, Justice Trivedi said.

    “I do have a soft corner not because I consider them as weaker gender but because I respect their commitment. I respect their inner strength. You know I used to say if you want to be free from your outer domination, you need to discover your inner strength”, she said.

    Justice Trivedi in Sanskrit told young women lawyers that nobody would enlighten their path and they would have to themselves light their path.

    “Be a light of yourself,” she said.

    Justice Hima Kohli, who was also sworn in as judge of the top court along with justices Nagarathna and Trivedi, said that they would try to live up to the expectations and follow the rule of law to do justice and give it that sensitivity which sometimes women tend to give to situations looking at from their perspective.

    “I am not talking from a gender point of view but as a unisex point of view. So that a kind of focus that a woman can have and a view on a matter which does not sometimes occur to a male and I am not saying my male colleagues are not sensitive. It is amazing to see that many of our colleagues which I have sat with, will give a different perspective to women-oriented issues which may not occur to me,” Justice Kohli said.

    “I will be the first one to admit it but it’s very heartening to see that men are equally sensitive,” she said.

    On August 31, the top court had held the swearing-in ceremony of nine Supreme Court judges, including three women, in one go which has been unprecedented and would go into the annals of 71-year-long history of the apex court.

    With the swearing-in of three women judges, Justices Nagarathna, Trivedi, and Kohli which happened for the first time in the apex court’s history, the top court now has as many as four women judges on its bench simultaneously, another first to its credit.

    Besides the three women judges, CJI NV Ramana had also administered oath to Justices Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, Vikram Nath, Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari, Justices C T Ravikumar, M M Sundresh, and P S Narasimha, who was a senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General.