In her first Rajya Sabha speech, India’s first openly queer MP and senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy used the debate on the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 to demand deeper judicial reform. She argued that merely adding four judges will not clear backlogs without structural change, stressing the urgent need for more women, SC, ST, OBC, religious minorities and queer judges in higher courts.
IN HER MAIDEN SPEECH in the Rajya Sabha, India’s first openly queer Member of Parliament (MP) and senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy questioned the lack of women and minorities inclusion in the judiciary. On Wednesday, August 5, 2026, the Rajya Sabha MP raised concerns over representation in India's judiciary during a discussion on the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026. She questioned the lack of diversity among judges and highlighted the need for greater representation of women, Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and other marginalized communities in the higher judiciary.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP was speaking during the discussion on the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, which would increase the strength of the apex court from the current 33 judges to 37 (excluding the Chief Justice of India). Menaka remarked that the government's objective to clear the pending backlog of cases would not merely be achieved by adding four additional judges.
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“This is not about bringing in four more judges. You solve issues when you work with the Constitution. The problem is with the Central government not appointing women judges, Scheduled Castes or Tribes, religious minorities or gay persons to the judiciary,” Menaka remarked.
Drawing from her own experience as a senior advocate in the Supreme Court, Menaka said the Indian judiciary's problems will not be solved by passing an order and increase of four more judges in the apex court. She further continued that the problem lies in the government's reluctance to appoint women, people from lower caste, religious minority, and queer persons to the judiciary.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday, August 3, 2026 without any discussion, but is now awaiting assent from the Rajya Sabha.
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Commenting on the current state of the Judiciary, Menaka said that over 30% seats in state high courts across the nation remain vacant. She continued that only 14% of all HC judges are women as of now, and in contrast, women from the scheduled castes or scheduled tribes are just under 20% of the judiciary.
Giving further statistics, Menaka pointed out that in the past eight years, from 2018 to 2026, the Centre appointed only 3% SC judges and 2% ST judges, and 12 % Other Backward Classes (OBC) judges.
Menaka Guruswamy is an Indian politician and lawyer. She is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court and has represented West Bengal in the Rajya Sabha since 2026. Menaka Guruswamy was among the legal team that argued on behalf of the petitioners during the landmark 2018 Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India case. The Supreme Court ruled that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalized homosexuality, was against fundamental rights. Section 377 was read down and as a result, consenting adults were allowed to legally engage in private same-sex acts.
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