India is set to elect its first female Chief Justice of India, which might be a watershed moment in the country's history. In 2027, Justice BV Nagarathna, currently, a judge on the Karnataka High Court could become India's first female Chief Justice.
The Supreme Court Collegium led by Chief Justice NV Ramana has recommended nine judges for elevation to the Supreme Court and Justice BV Nagarathna is one of them.
In 2008, she was appointed as an Additional Judge of the High Court of Karnataka, and nearly two years later, she was appointed as a permanent judge. She'll most likely be there for a month.
She will be following in the footsteps of her father, Chief Justice of India ES Venkataramiah, who served from June to December 1989.
Key comments by Justice Nagarathna
"India's patriarchal society doesn't know how to treat empowered women."
"Nobody can study on a hungry stomach."
"There may be illegitimate parents but there can never be illegitimate children."
In November 2009, she and two other Karnataka High Court judges were locked in a courtroom by a group of protesting lawyers, but she handled the situation with dignity. “We are
not angry, but we are unhappy that the Bar has done this to us,” she subsequently stated. "We have to hang our heads in shame.”
Major rulings
In 2012, Justice Nagarathna issued a decision emphasising the importance of regulating electronic media. “While truthful information distribution is a fundamental necessity of
any broadcasting channel, sensationalism in the form of ‘Breaking News,' ‘Flash News,' or any other form must be curbed,” she stated.
Justice Nagarathna underlined that the concept of regulation should not be interpreted to mean control by the government or the powers that be, while encouraging the Union government to explore establishing an autonomous and statutory framework to regulate broadcast media.
She declared in a 2019 ruling that because a temple is not a "commercial establishment," employees of a temple in Karnataka are not entitled to gratuity under the Payments of Gratuity Act. She ruled that a temple employee is entitled to gratuity benefits under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment Act, a state-enacted special statute.
Other women nominees
According to sources familiar with the situation, in addition to Justice Nagarathna, Justice Hima Kohli, the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, and Justice Bela Trivedi, a Gujarat High Court judge, have been nominated for the position.
Only one woman judge presently serves on the Supreme Court, Justice Indira Banerjee, who is slated to retire in September 2022. Until now, only eight women had been appointed to the Supreme Court.