Punjab and Haryana high court women judges’ strength reaches record 19

The nine new judges took oath before the acting chief justice, taking the total strength of the high court to 64 against a sanctioned strength of 85; of the 64 sitting judges, 19 are now women, the highest representation of women judges in the history of the high court

Women now account for nearly 30% of the sitting judges at the Punjab and Haryana high court, with their number rising to a record 19 after three women lawyers among a total of nine advocates were administered the oath of office on Friday.

The Punjab and Haryana high court exercises jurisdiction over Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, and is among the largest constitutional courts in the country. (HT)

The nine new judges took oath before the acting chief justice, taking the total strength of the high court to 64 against a sanctioned strength of 85. Of the 64 sitting judges, 19 are now women, the highest representation of women judges in the history of the high court.

The previous high was recorded in August 2025, when the court had 18 women judges, according to officials. Before that, their number had reached 13 in November 2022.

The Punjab and Haryana high court exercises jurisdiction over Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, and is among the largest constitutional courts in the country. It began functioning from its present building in Chandigarh in January 1955. Before Partition, the high court functioned from Lahore.

Those administered the oath on Friday included Haryana advocate general Pravindra Chauhan, Monica Chhibber Sharma, Harmeet Singh Deol, Rajesh Gaur, Puja Chopra, Sunish Bindlish, Minderjeet Yadav, Divya Sharma and Ravinder Malik. The Supreme Court collegium had cleared their appointments in May this year.