Supreme Court's Bold Remark on Gender Bias in Judiciary

The Supreme Court critiqued the Madhya Pradesh High Court's decision to dismiss a female judge over performance, disregarding her miscarriage-related trauma. The top court reinstated four judges but questioned the dismissal process, citing COVID-19's impact and urging gender-sensitive assessments.

The Supreme Court criticized the Madhya Pradesh High Court's decision to dismiss a female judge based on performance, ignoring her miscarriage-related trauma. A bench led by Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh sought clarity from the high court about the criteria for terminating civil judges and urged gender-sensitive assessments.

On November 11, 2023, the court took suo motu cognizance after the termination of six women civil judges over allegedly poor performance. The Madhya Pradesh High Court later reinstated four of these judges after reassessing earlier resolutions. They had originally joined the state judicial service in 2017 and 2018.

The high court's report showed a decline in Sharma's performance from "very good" and "good" to "average" and "poor." Despite a quantitative assessment hindered by COVID-19, the terminations proceeded. Appeals highlight violations of fundamental rights, citing the dismissal during maternity leave and claiming discriminatory legal practices.

(With inputs from agencies.)