Overview
- A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued notices on May 20, 2026 and asked the Union, all states and union territories to file replies and comprehensive empanelment material in the Ladli Foundation Trust's PIL.
- The petition asks the court to direct a minimum 30 percent reservation for women advocates across Supreme Court and high court panels, government law officer posts and central, state and PSU empanelments and to mandate uniform empanelment guidelines.
- Petitioners and the Supreme Court Bar Association cited data showing sharp underrepresentation of women in the legal profession, noting that women make up about 15.3 percent of enrolled advocates and that no woman has served as Attorney General or Solicitor General of India.
- Lawyers for the petitioner told the court that panel appointments act as feeder pools for high-visibility work and judicial elevation and that women who are empanelled often are not assigned cases, so the PIL seeks both seats and mechanisms to ensure actual case allotment.
- If the court orders changes the ruling could force ministries, state governments and PSUs to rewrite empanelment policies, reshape career pipelines for women lawyers and prompt further interventions from bodies such as the Bar Council of India.