Women Pioneers in Law

1866–1954

Cornelia Sorabji

India's first woman lawyer

Cornelia Sorabji was the first woman to graduate from Bombay University (1888) and the first woman to study law at Oxford (Somerville College), where she sat the Bachelor of Civil Law examination in 1892, though women could not then receive degrees. Barred from practising in India, she worked for years as a legal adviser to purdahnashin women (women in seclusion) and their estates. After the Legal Practitioners (Women) Act 1923, she enrolled as an advocate in Calcutta in 1924. A bust of her stands at Lincoln's Inn.

• First woman to study law at Oxford.
• Legal adviser to purdahnashin women.
• Enrolled as an advocate in 1924.

1916 and 1922

Regina Guha and Sudhansu Bala Hazra

Refused enrolment

In 1916 the Calcutta High Court refused to enrol Regina Guha, a law graduate, as a pleader, holding that "persons" in the Legal Practitioners Act did not include women. In 1922 the Patna High Court refused Sudhansu Bala Hazra on similar grounds. These refusals led to the Legal Practitioners (Women) Act 1923.

• Led to the Legal Practitioners (Women) Act 1923.

1898–1981

Mithan Lam (Tata)

First woman advocate of the Bombay High Court

After studying economics and law and being called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn, Mithan Tata (later Lam) became the first woman to be enrolled as an advocate of the Bombay High Court in 1924. She campaigned for women's suffrage and was later Sheriff of Bombay.

• First woman advocate of the Bombay High Court (1924).

1905–1996

Justice Anna Chandy

The first woman judge in India

Anna Chandy, from Travancore, was the first woman in Kerala to earn a law degree (1926). In 1937 she was appointed a munsiff in Travancore, becoming the first woman judge in India, and in 1959 she became the first woman judge of a High Court (Kerala). She founded and edited a magazine, Shrimati, advocating women's rights.

• First woman judge in India (1937).
• First woman High Court judge (Kerala, 1959).

1908–1969

Violet Alva

Lawyer and parliamentarian

Violet Alva was a lawyer who became one of the early women to practise before the Bombay High Court. She later became the first woman to be Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (1962–69).

• First woman Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

1928–2019

Lily Thomas

The PIL warrior

A Supreme Court advocate who filed several influential public interest petitions, Lily Thomas was the petitioner in Lily Thomas v. Union of India (2000), on conversion to contract a second marriage, and in Lily Thomas v. Union of India (2013), which ended the protection for convicted legislators under Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act.

• Petitioner in the 2013 case disqualifying convicted legislators.

1927–2013

Kapila Hingorani

Mother of PIL

Kapila Hingorani filed the habeas corpus petition based on newspaper reports about undertrials languishing in Bihar's jails, which became Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar (1979) — the first public interest litigation in India. She went on to file many more PILs, especially for prisoners and women.

• Filed Hussainara Khatoon (1979).

born 1947

Flavia Agnes

Law for women survivors

A lawyer and scholar of women's rights and family law, Flavia Agnes, herself a survivor of domestic violence, co-founded Majlis in Mumbai (1990), which provides legal support to women and children, and has written widely on personal law and gender.

• Co-founder of Majlis (1990).

born 1956

Zia Mody

Corporate law pioneer

Zia Mody, daughter of Soli Sorabjee, is a corporate lawyer and co-founder of AZB & Partners, one of India's largest law firms. She has served as a vice-president of the London Court of International Arbitration's court and is among the best-known figures in Indian corporate law.

• Daughter of Soli Sorabjee.
• Co-founder of AZB & Partners.

Women Senior Advocates of the Supreme Court

A slow opening

Leila Seth was the first woman to be designated a Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court (1977). Indu Malhotra, designated in 2007, was only the second woman in thirty years, and the numbers rose significantly only after the Supreme Court's 2017 guidelines on senior designation.

• First: Leila Seth (1977).
• Second: Indu Malhotra (2007).

Women in the Judiciary

Progress and gaps

Women are much better represented in the district judiciary, where several states now recruit more women than men through judicial service examinations, than in the higher judiciary. Only eleven women have been appointed to the Supreme Court since 1950, and no woman has yet been Chief Justice of India; Justice B.V. Nagarathna is in line to become the first, in 2027.

2017

Joyita Mondal

India's first transgender judge

In 2017 Joyita Mondal was appointed a member of the Lok Adalat in Islampur, West Bengal, becoming India's first transgender person to serve as a judge. She had worked for years with the transgender community in North Bengal.

• Lok Adalat member, Islampur (2017).

2023

Sarah Sunny

Sign language in the Supreme Court

In September 2023, Sarah Sunny, a deaf advocate, appeared before the Supreme Court with the help of a sign language interpreter, the first time a case was argued in the Court in this way, with Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud's encouragement.

1909–1981

Durgabai Deshmukh

Lawyer, Constituent Assembly member and social reformer

She practised law in the Madras High Court, was an active member of the Constituent Assembly, and founded the Andhra Mahila Sabha and the Central Social Welfare Board.

1940–2014

Vasudha Dhagamwar

Co-author of the open letter on the Mathura case

With Upendra Baxi, Lotika Sarkar and Raghunath Kelkar she wrote the 1979 letter that sparked the reform of rape law, and later founded the legal NGO Multiple Action Research Group.

Justice Sunanda Bhandare

A Delhi High Court judge remembered for gender justice

An annual memorial lecture in her name has been delivered by leading judges on women's rights.

Justice Prabha Sridevan

Chaired the Intellectual Property Appellate Board

A former Madras High Court judge, her IPAB decisions on pharmaceutical patents drew international attention.

Justice Gita Mittal

The first woman Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court

Appointed in 2018 after serving on the Delhi High Court.

Justice Sunita Agarwal

The first woman Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court

Moved from the Allahabad High Court to lead the Gujarat High Court in 2023.

Justice Ritu Bahri

The first woman Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court

Appointed in 2024 after serving on the Punjab and Haryana High Court.