The elevation of Chief Justice of the Madras High Court has set a new record for the apex court. Indira Banerjee has been appointed as a judge at the Supreme Court.
While Banerjee happens to be the eighth woman to ever be elevated to the position, she will be joining Justice Indu Malhotra and Justice R Bhanumati who are currently in office at the top court.
Indira Banerjee's appointment is noteworthy since this is the first time in history that the Supreme Court of India will have three women as sitting judges since its inception in 1950, NDTV reported.
A notification from the Central Government in this regard was issued yesterday. It reads:
In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Kumari Justice Indira Banerjee, Chief Justice of Madras High Court, to be a judge of the Supreme Court of India with effect from the date she assumes charge of her office.
Who is Indira Banerjee?
- Born on 24 September 1957, Indira Banerjee did her schooling at Loreto House in Kolkata.
- The 60-year-old is an alumnus of Calcutta University's College of Law and Presidency College in Kolkata
- Like most senior women in law at present, Indira Banerjee began practising law as an advocate at the Calcutta High Court in the mid-1980s.
- Enrolled at the Calcutta High Court on July 5, 1985, Banerjee practised as a lawyer for 17 years before being appointed as a judge at the court in 2002.
- After serving as a judge at the Calcutta High Court for 14 years, Indira Banerjee was transferred to the Delhi High Court in 2016.
- She was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court in April 2017 making her only the second woman to head the court.
- Earlier in July this year, Banerjee was chosen by the apex court to head an in-house inquiry panel to investigate the allegations of misconduct against two sitting judges in the Odisha High Court.
- Her name for the position in the Supreme Court was recommended about 15 days ago.
Women in the Supreme Court
The first woman judge to be elevated to the apex court was Fatima Beevi in 1989. Other women judges in the Supreme Court were Sujata V Manohar, Ruma Pal, Gyan Sudha Mishra and Ranjana Prakash Desai.
Justice Indu Malhotra, who was appointed earlier this year, was the first woman to be elevated to the apex court directly from the bar.