Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde on Thursday said the time had come for a woman to be appointed as the Chief Justice of India, but added that many women lawyers do not take up judgeship because of domestic compulsions.

Justice Bobde, heading a bench also having Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Surya Kant, made the oral observation in response to a plea by lawyer Sneha Kalita that more women be made judges.

“We think the time has come for a woman Chief Justice of India…. The experience of chief justices of high courts stated that when women lawyers are asked to come in as judges in the bench, they refuse saying they have domestic responsibilities or their children are in Class XI or XII and thus these things have been communicated to me,” CJI Bobde said.

Kalita submitted that the memorandum of procedure governing the appointment process of judges does not have anything on women judges being appointed.

“We have the interest of women in mind, there is no attitudinal changes in us. It is only that we need capable candidates,” Justice Bobde said.

Another advocate, Shobha Gupta, appearing for the Supreme Court Women Lawyers’ Association, also pleaded that women lawyers be given adequate representation in the appointment of judges for high courts and the Supreme Court.

CJI Bobde agreed to consider the suggestion positively.

Over the past few years, there have been demands for the appointment of more women judges and also for the selection of a woman CJI.

No woman has held the post of CJI in independent India.

Justice Ruma Pal had served in the Supreme Court from January 28, 2000, to June 2, 2006, but did not become CJI. She retired as the second senior-most judge of the Supreme Court.

On Thursday, the court was dealing with the issue of appointing retired judges as additional judges to clear over 55 lakh pending cases in various high courts and also expedite the appointment process of regular judges of high courts.

Attorney-general K.K. Venugopal assured the bench that the government would expedite the process of judges’ appointments. He said a decision would be taken within three months on 10 names approved by the Supreme Court collegium. The Centre has been sitting on the names despite the collegium’s clearance.

Of these, five candidates are from Calcutta.

“Mr Attorney, I think this case can be brought to a conclusion if the Centre tells us the timeline which will be adhered to each stage of judges’ appointment,” CJI Bobde said.

“We need to know the timeline by the Centre to respond to the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendations…. Please intimate the timeline to us at the next date of hearing,” Justice Kaul told the attorney-general.

On December 10 last year, the top court had expressed serious concern over nearly 40 per cent vacancies in various high courts. The Supreme Court had directed the Centre to come out with the details of the pendency of the appointments process so that it could expedite the process.

The court had passed the orders after taking on record the preliminary data submitted by attorney-general K.K. Venugopal which showed that against the sanctioned strength of 1,079 high court judges, the working strength was only 669.