SC judge Indira Banerjee demits office

New Delhi: Outgoing senior woman Supreme Court judge Justice Indira Banerjee Friday hoped that more women would be appointed as judges of the top judiciary in the coming days.

Justice Banerjee, who is the fifth senior-most judge in the apex court would be demitting office after serving for over four years.

Besides her, other women judges in the apex court are Justices Hima Kohli, B.V. Nagarathna, and Bela M Trivedi.

Justice Banerjee was the eighth woman judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court and now with her retirement, there would be three women judges in the apex court.

The Supreme Court, which came into being on January 26, 1950, has seen very few women judges since its inception and in the last over 72 years – only 11, starting with Justice M Fathima Beevi in 1989.

Other female judges appointed to the apex court were – Justices Sujata V Manohar, Ruma Pal, Gyan Sudha Misra, Ranjana P Desai, R Banumathi, and Indu Malhotra.

On the last working day, Justice Banerjee shared the ceremonial bench with Chief Justice of India U U Lalit who praised her contribution to the judiciary in her over two-decade-long career.

"We all will be missing our sister, Justice Banerjee. In twenty years of judicial career, she has given everything. Hard-working -- yes. Intelligent -- No doubt. She has all the qualities which a judge should have. We all will be missing her on the bench and of course, she will always remain in our hearts. So, good luck sister! Wish you all the best!," said the CJI.