Indu Malhotra sworn-in as SC judge, becomes 7th woman judge in top court since independence

Senior advocate Indu Malhotra was on Friday (April 27) sworn-in as a Supreme Court judge. She was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. Indu Malhotra became the first woman to be appointed as judge of Supreme Court directly from the bar. Her appointment comes amid a row over the government's rejection of Uttarakhand Chief Justice KM Joseph's elevation.

Indu Malhotra, 61, is the seventh women judge in the top court since Independence. Only six women judges have made it to the Supreme Court so far. Other women judges were elevated to the Supreme Court from high courts. The first woman judge of the top court was Justice Fathima Beevi who was appointed in 1989, 39 years after the Supreme Court was set up in 1950. The Supreme Court collegium, comprising CJI Dipak Misra and Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, in a unanimous decision, had cleared the names of Malhotra as well as Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph.

Highlights of Indu Malhotra's career:
Malhotra joined the legal profession in 1983 and was enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi. She qualified as an Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court in 1988 and has been dealing with several matters of constitutional importance. She was one of the prominent senior advocates regularly appearing in educational matters pertaining to medical and engineering colleges. Malhotra was one of the members of the Vishaka Committee on sexual harassment at workplaces, as also of a 10-member committee constituted by the top court to deal with complaints of sexual harassment within the court. Indu Malhotra was the second woman to be designated as a senior advocate in the Supreme Court in 2007 after a gap of over 30 years. Malhotra has represented various statutory corporations like Securities Exchange Board of India, Delhi Development Authority, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Indian Council for Agricultural Research, before the Supreme Court.