Women advocates protest at HC demanding 30% quota in Bar Council elections

Hyderabad: Women advocates practising at the Telangana High Court on Monday afternoon at lunch hour staged a protest in front of gate no 6 of the court, demanding implementation of 30% reservation for women in the Bar Council elections scheduled to be held in January 2026. The protest was organised to draw attention of the Bar Council towards what the women advocates termed as continued neglect and discrimination against women in the electoral process.

Leading the protest, T Rajitha strongly criticised the Bar Council for what she described as its adamant and biased approach in refusing to extend reservation to women advocates. She pointed out that several State Bar Councils had implemented reservation policies to ensure adequate representation of women, while Telangana continues to lag despite repeated representations.

Rajitha alleged that chairman of the Bar Council A Narasimha Reddy has shown a complete lack of interest in addressing the long-pending demand of women advocates. She stated that despite multiple requests, he failed to forward a no-objection or recommendation for women’s reservation to the Bar Council of India which is mandatory for implementing the policy in the upcoming elections.

Condemning the attitude of the Bar Council leadership, she said the inaction clearly reflects discrimination against women advocates and undermines the principles of equality and fair representation within the legal fraternity. Women advocates would continue their agitation and legal fight until justice is delivered and their rightful demand is fulfilled, she warned.

Several advocates, including Amrapali, Subhashini, Lakshmi, participated in the protest, raising slogans and calling for immediate steps to ensure gender justice in the Bar Council elections. The protest concluded with a resolve to intensify the movement if authorities fail to respond positively to the demand.