The Supreme Court on Monday directed that 30 per cent seats in state Bar councils, where the election process has not been set in motion, be kept for women advocates.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said for the current year, the state Bar councils where elections are yet to be held should fill 20 per cent seats with women candidates and 10 per cent by co-option if there are not many desirous lawyers to contest.

The top court directed that a proposal for co-option shall be placed before the court in regard to the state Bar councils where the number of contesting women lawyers are inadequate.

At the outset, senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, who is also the chairperson of the Bar Council of India (BCI), informed the bench that the election process as per

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