Purnima Arora LL.B (Gold Medalist), Advocate, Delhi High Court
Though even after 75 years of Independence the representation of women both at the Bar and the Bench has been meager, we have numerous examples of women who have fought all odds to emerge as a winner in this male-dominated profession and who have made a name for themselves. This column is an ode to such fighters.
JUSTICE RITU BAHRI
Born on October 11, 1962 at Jalandhar, Justice Ritu Bahri belongs to a family of illustrious lawyers. Her great grandfather Late Shri Karam Chand Bahri was a well-known civil lawyer of his times. Her grandfather Late Shri Som Dutt Bahri also practiced Law on the civil side, and was a Member of the Legislative Assembly, Punjab, from 1952 to 1957. Her father Justice Amrit Lal Bahri retired as a Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court in the year 1994.
Justice Bahri did her schooling from the Carmel Convent School, Chandigarh, and Graduation in Economics (Hons.) from the Government College for Women, Chandigarh in the year 1982, in the First Division. Thereafter, in 1985, she did her Law from the Panjab University, Chandigarh, in the First Division. In 1986, Justice Bahri enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana, and started practice in the Punjab & Haryana High Court. In March 1992, she was appointed as an Assistant Advocate General, Haryana. Thereafter, she was appointed as the Deputy Advocate General, Haryana, in August 1999, and Senior Advocate General, Haryana, in December 2009. While representing the State of Haryana, she handled several cases related to Service, Land Acquisition, Taxation, Revenue, Labour and MACT.
Justice Bahri was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court on August 16, 2010, and thereafter, as a Permanent Judge on February 23, 2012. She performed the duties as the Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court from October 14, 2023 to February 3, 2024.
On February 4, 2024, Justice Ritu Bahri was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Uttarakhand, making her the first woman Chief Justice of that High Court.
Notable Judgments
A Division Bench of Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Aman Chaudhary of the Punjab & Haryana High Court observed that the Army Public Schools were an authority within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution, and therefore, amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the High Court.
A Division Bench of the Acting Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Nidhi Gupta of the Punjab & Haryana High Court issued notice on a plea seeking directions to the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the Bar Council of Punjab, Haryana & Chandigarh, for “standardized stipend and renumeration guidelines” for minimum stipends for young lawyers and law interns.
A Division Bench of the Acting Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Aman Chaudhary of the Punjab & Haryana High Court took suo moto cognizance against drug trafficking at the border areas of Punjab, and issued a notice to the States of Punjab and Haryana as well as the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
In a matter with regard to mental cruelty, the Division Bench of Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Ashok Kumar Verma of the Punjab & Haryana High Court observed that, even if the husband and the wife were staying together, and the husband stopped talking to the wife, it would cause mental cruelty. A spouse staying away, and sending vulgar and defamatory letters or notices by initiating a number of judicial proceedings, could make the life of the other spouse miserable.
