WOMEN POWER

The past week has seen a demonstration of the new era of women rising up in a way like never before, more so in Jammu and Kashmir, where women are perceived to be exploited more than any other part of the country. While the state High Court got its first woman Judge in all of its 90 years of existence on Tuesday when Advocate Sindhu Sharma took was sworn in to the historic position, the week is going to end with first Chief Justice in the state too when Justice Gita Mittal will take oath on Saturday.
Not to forget the week started with a reshuffling in police department, bringing highest 3 women police officers as the top cop of three districts in state.

We The Women walks you through some of this happenings:


FIRST WOMEN JUDGE OF J&K HIGH COURT

Justice Sindhu Sharma, daughter of retired High Court Judge O P Sharma on Tuesday was sworn in as Judge in the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.
Sindhu Sharma, 45, is the first female judge in the state’s High Court. She will serve the bench for the next 17 years.
Along with her, Rashid Ali Dar, a retired sessions judge was also sworn in.
Earlier a notice was issued by Department of Justice of the Union Ministry of Law and Justice that President has appointed Assistant Solicitor General, Sindhu Sharma, as judges for the J&K High Court. Sharma is from Jammu and has acquired the distinction of becoming the first woman judge of the High Court in J&K. Interestingly, in its 90-year-long history; the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has got its first woman judge in Sindhu.
Advocate Sindhu Sharma born on October 10, 1972 is presently Assistant Solicitor General of India in J&K High Court, Jammu Wing and she was the first lady Advocate of State to be appointed as Assistant Solicitor General of India. She cleared LL.B in the year 1996, from Punjab University, Chandigarh, in First Division, B.A (Hons) in the year 1993, from Government College for Girls, Sector 11 Chandigarh, holding Third Position in Sociology Honours in Punjab University.
Adv Sindu enrolled as an advocate vides enrolment no.814/96, practicing as an Advocate at High Court and District Courts of Jammu and Kashmir at Jammu since 1996. She appointed Assistant Solicitor General of India for Jammu & Kashmir High Court at Jammu in Nov. 2014 for a period of 03 years and further granted extension for a further period of 03 years in November, 2017. She is also Counsel for NHPC and Power Grid Corporation of India, JDA. She was also elected as Vice President of J&K High Court Bar Association Jammu in the year 2013.

FIRST WOMEN CHIEF JUSTICE
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has also got its first woman chief justice. Justice Gita Mittal, the acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, who has been appointed as the Chief Justice of J&K High Court will take the oath on Saturday.
The Supreme Court Collegium last month had recommended Justice Gita Mittal then Acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court as new Chief Justice of J&K High Court which was duly accepted by Centre and then assented by President of India last week.
Justice Gita Mittal was born on 9th December, 1958 to parents who were in academics. An alumna of the Lady Irwin Higher Secondary School [Science batch of 1975], Lady Shri Ram College For Women [BA (Eco. Hons.) 1978] and the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University [(LL.B) 1981], she was appointed as an Additional Judge of Delhi High Court on 16th July, 2004.
Prior to her appointment as Additional Judge, she had an illustrious legal practice in all courts and other judicial forums since 1981. Justice Mittal was confirmed as a permanent judge on the 20th of February, 2006.
As a judge, she has presided over several jurisdictions including heading a Division Bench hearing criminal appeals involving life and death sentence references; matters of the Armed Forces; Cooperative Societies; Criminal Contempt References; Criminal Appeals; Death References; Company Appeals; Writ Petitions and Letters Patent Appeals relating to the Armed Forces. She currently presides over a Division Bench hearing writ petitions arising out of orders of the Central Administrative Tribunal and other service matters.
Since August, 2008, Justice Gita Mittal has been a member of the Governing Council of the National Law University, Delhi. She is also a member of the Governing Council of the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi since 2013 and has been nominated to its Administrative Committee.
Justice Mittal is presently chairing the court committees on the Delhi High Court’s Mediation and Conciliation Centre as well as the committee monitoring the Implementation of Judicial Guidelines for Dealing with Cases of Sexual Offences and Child Witnesses. She has spearheaded the Vulnerable Witness Court Project in the trial courts in Delhi leading to the first such court room in India being inaugurated on 16th September, 2012 and the second on 11th September, 2013.
She has also served on the COFEPOSA Advisory Board, under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange & Prevention of Smuggling Act, 1974; and the committee responsible for assessing the performance of judicial officers for their recommendation for elevation as Judge of the Delhi High Court. She was appointed as a single judge Tribunal under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 in February, 2008 to examine the Government ban on activities of the Students of Islamic Movement in India (SIMI).
Deeply engaged with the work of institutional strengthening, Justice Mittal has also served as a member of the Committee Against Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place; Working Conditions and Welfare Committee For Judicial Officers/staff of High Court and District Courts; Committee to assess the performance of additional Judges of this Court while recommending their appointment as permanent Judges and to assess the judgments of additional Judges for the purpose of extension of their terms as additional Judges; Library Committee; Committee on Introduction of Evening Courts/Shift System in Subordinate Courts; and the Examination-cum-Judicial Education and Training Programme Committee.
An alumna of Campus Law Centre, Delhi University, Justice Mittal began practicing in 1981. She was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court in July 2004 and was confirmed in February 2006. Justice Mittal is also the first woman from the field of law and justice to be conferred the Nari Shakti Puraskar, India’s highest civilian honor for women. The Nari Shakti award is presented for exemplary service to the cause of upliftment of women.

WOMEN TOP COPS IN 3 DISTRICTS
The state government on Monday affected a massive reshuffle in the higher-rung police administration, transferring as many as 24 Superintendents and Senior Superintendents of Police, including two women officers, thus raising the number of women as top cop in districts to three, in Reasi, Ramban, besides Leh districts.
Among others, Nisha Nathyal, Commandant, JKAP 7th Battalion was transferred and posted as SSP Reasi vice Tahir Sajad Bhat and Anita Sharma, Commandant, IR-15th Battalion was transferred and posted as SSP Ramban vice Mohan Lal. Along with Sargun Shukla as SSP Leh, there are currently three women SSPs looking after three districts in the state, in first of such instances.