‘Men would understand if they menstruated…’: Supreme Court criticises dismissal of 6 women judges in Madhya Pradesh

The Supreme Court on Tuesday strongly criticized the dismissal of six women civil judges in Madhya Pradesh, questioning the fairness of the criteria used. It also commented that ‘men would understand the situation if they experienced menstruation.’

A panel of Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh was hearing a case related to the termination of female civil judges.

Madhya Pradesh recently terminated six female civil judges, with two of them yet to be reinstated. The lawyer representing the state explained that the judges were dismissed because they were not handling enough cases efficiently.

What did the top court say?

In response, the top court said that they would have the same criteria for male judges. “I wish they had menstruation; then only they would understand,” Justice Nagarathna said.

The apex court also said that if the women are suffering physically and mentally, then don’t say they are slow and send them home. The top court listed the matter on December 12 for further hearing.

The SC was hearing a suo motu petition on the issue of the termination of six women judges by the Madhya Pradesh government.

In June 2023, the Madhya Pradesh government terminated the services of six judges following a recommendation by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The judges were reportedly terminated because of unsatisfactory performance during their probation period.

Following an administrative committee and a full court meeting that found judges’ performance during the probation period unsatisfactory, the State Law Department issued orders terminating their services.