Women's Day 2025: Fathima Beevi to BV Nagarathna, list of female judges of Supreme Court of India

Women's Day 2025: The contribution of women in every space is rising in India. Since independence, women have played an active role, be it in politics or cinema. Among various sectors is the judiciary, where the number of women judges may have been less in comparison to men, but their sense of wisdom and justice served as an inspiration for half of the population. 

The Supreme Court of India has seen 11 female judges in its history of over 75 years. The average term of a female judge in the Supreme Court is 3.87 years. The 11 women judges of the apex court have collectively authored 1022 judgements. As Women's Day 2025 nears, here is the detail about all these 11 judges.

1. Justice Fathima Beevi: Justice Fathima, a Judge of the Kerala High Court, was the first woman to be appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court. She was appointed on October 6, 1989, and remained in office for over 2.5 years till April 29, 1992. During his term in office, she authored 49 judgements.
2. Justice Sujata Manohar: Justice Manohar, the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, was the second female judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court. She was appointed to the apex court on November 8, 1994. Her tenure lasted for over 4 years and 8 months and ended on August 27, 1999. During her tenure, she authored 217 judgements, which is the second highest by any female judge of the SC.
3. Justice Ruma Pal: Justice Pal was appointed to the apex court on January 28, 2000, and served till June 2, 2006. She was the Judge of Calcutta High Court before her appointment. She has the record of being the longest-serving woman judge of the Supreme Court of India. Justice Pal authored 152 judgments during his tenure.
4. Justice Gyan Sudha Misra: Justice Misra was the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court before her appointment to the apex court. He was appointed on April 30, 2010, and served till April 27, 2014. During her tenure, she authored 41 judgements. She passed some of the landmark verdicts like on conflict of interest in the Srinivasan-BCCI matter, the Delhi Uphaar fire tragedy. 
5. Justice Ranjana Desai: Justice Desai, appointed to the Supreme Court on September 13, 2011, was the Judge of the  Bombay High Court before her appointment. She remained in office till October 29, 2014. As a Supreme Court judge, she authored 76 judgements. She was later appointed as the Chairman of the Delimitation Commission for Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Jammu and Kashmir in 2021.
6. Justice R Banumathi: Justice Banumathi was the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court when she was appointed as Judge in the Supreme Court on August 13, 2014. She served till July 19, 2020. She is the second longest-serving female judge of the Supreme Court. During her tenure, she authored 386 judgements, the highest by any female judge of the apex court. 
7. Justice Indu Malhotra: Justice Malhotra was appointed to the highest court in India on April 27, 2018, and she served the court till March 13, 2021. She was a member of the High-Level Committee of the Ministry of Law and Justice before her appointment. She is the first woman who was elevated directly from the Bar Council of India. During her tenure, she authored 70 judgements.
8. Justice Indira Banerjee: Appointed on August 7, 2018, Justice Banerjee was the Chief Justice of the Madras HC. She demitted office on September 23, 2022, after her tenure was completed. During her tenure, she authored 31 judgments.
9. Justice Hima Kohli: Justice Kohli was appointed to the top court on August 31, 2021, and remained in office till September 1, 2024. She held the office of the Chief Justice of the Telangana HC before her appointment. She authored 40 judgements during his tenure.
10. Justice Bela Trivedi: Justice Trivedi is one of the two female Supreme Court judges currently in office. She was appointed to the top court with Justice Kohli on August 31, 2021. She was the Judge in Gujarat HC before her appointment. Her tenure in the Supreme Court is till June 9, 2025.
11. Justice BV Nagarathna: Justice Bangalore Venkataramiah Nagarathna was also appointed on August 31, 2021, and will remain in office till October 29, 2027. She was the Judge in the Karnataka High Court before her appointment. She is expected to become the first woman CJI in 2027.