Indu Malhotra to be sworn in as Supreme Court judge today

NEW DELHI: Senior advocate Indu Malhotra will be sworn in as a Judge of the Supreme Court today at 10.30 am. She will be administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Dipak Misra in the presence of all top court judges.

Malhotra will be the seventh woman Judge in the Supreme Court's 68-year history. She will be the first woman advocate to be directly appointed as SC Judge.

61-year-old Malhotra's name, cleared by the government, was one of the two recommended by the SC collegium to be elevated to the apex court bench. Her name was approved by the collegium on January 10, with a resolution of the apex court saying, "In our considered opinion, at present, Indu Malhotra, Senior Advocate, is eminently suitable for being appointed as a Judge in the Supreme Court."

While Malhotra's name was recommended by the collegium for elevation along with that of Uttarakhand high court Chief Justice K M Joseph, the Centre has sought reconsideration of the proposal for the latter.

The other six women judges in the Supreme Court: Fathima Beevi, Sujata Manohar, Ruma Pal, Gyan Sudha Mishra, Ranjana Desai and sitting Judge, Justice R Banumathi.

Malhotra joined the legal profession in 1983 and was enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi. She qualified as an Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court in 1988 and has been dealing with several matters of constitutional importance.

She was one of the prominent senior advocates regularly appearing in educational matters pertaining to medical and engineering colleges.

Malhotra was one of the members of the Vishaka Committee on sexual harassment at workplaces, as also of a 10-member committee constituted by the top court to deal with complaints of sexual harassment within the court.

She was appointed as the standing counsel for Haryana in the apex court from 1991 to 1996.

Malhotra has represented various statutory corporations like Securities Exchange Board of India, Delhi Development Authority, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Indian Council for Agricultural Research, before the Supreme Court.

She was designated senior advocate by the top court in 2007 and became the second woman to be designated as such by the apex court after a gap of over 30 years.

Malhotra was born in Bangalore and after her schooling from Carmel Convent School in New Delhi, she did her B.A. (Hons.) in Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College. She obtained her law degree from the Faculty of Law in Delhi University.