Who is Indu Malhotra, the First Woman Recommended for SC Judgeship

Indu Malhotra is the second woman to be designated a senior counsel after Justice Leila Seth.

The Supreme Court Collegium on Thursday, 11 January, recommended that Uttarakhand Chief Justice KM Joseph and Supreme Court advocate Indu Malhotra be appointed as SC judges, reported The Hindu, quoting sources.

With her recommendation, Malhotra became the first woman lawyer to be recommended directly from the Bar to Supreme Court judgeship.

A second generation lawyer, Malhotra went on to pursue LLB from Delhi University, after her masters degree in political science. She worked briefly as a lecturer after her masters, and joined the legal profession in 1983.

In an interview to Lawz Magazine, Malhotra talks about how her apprenticeship with PM Parekh at the beginning of her career gave her "tremendous" exposure as she had the opportunity to brief most top counsels of the country.

In her career spanning over 35 years, Malhotra has represented various statutory corporations like the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) before the Supreme Court, as well as bodies like the National Commission for Women.

She was designated a senior counsel by the Supreme court in 2007, becoming the second woman to hold the honour. Justice Leila Seth was the only other person to receive honour, bestowed upon her in the 1970s.

In an earlier interview with Lawz magazine, Malhotra talks about how "tremendous hardwork" is required for both advocacy and judgeship.

I think that judgeship and advocacy are two sides of a coin. Each has its separate challenges. It would be unfair to compare the both and say which is more challenging. As an advocate every case is a new challenge. It is an opportunity to learn new areas of law. Similarly the same kind of hardwork goes for the judges as well. On a Monday or a Friday, a Supreme Court judge has to read at least 60-70 files.

(With inputs from The Hindu, Lawz Magazine)