A letter from the High Court’s Registrar General confirmed the appointment of Sonia Mathur and Monika Arora to the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) on Tuesday. Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya made the nominations to fill the designated seats for women members, ensuring the body meets the required composition standards.
The Supreme Court issued these directives after observing that State Bar Councils had increasingly become “men’s clubs.” The apex court instructed Chief Justices of jurisdictional High Courts to nominate two co-opted women members per council, selecting from former High Court judges or senior advocates.
This move follows a December 2023 Supreme Court order mandating 30 per cent representation for women lawyers in State Bar Councils. To handle situations where insufficient women were elected, the bench permitted a co-option mechanism to fill up to 10 per cent of those seats.
The BCD secretary received the nomination letter, finalizing the council's current makeup. No further elections or appointments are scheduled for this specific compliance requirement at this time.