Justice Leila Seth

Justice Leila Seth was the first woman chief justice of a high court in India, the first woman Judge of the Delhi High Court, and the first woman to top the Bar examinations in London. After her retirement as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh in 1992, she was appointed in 1995 as the one-member commission to examine the death in custody of Rajan Pillai, and from 1997 to 2000 was a member of the 15th Law Commission of India. She was the Chair of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) for several years, and feels that social action litigation could be aimed at providing a decent standard of living for the poor and working people. She served on the Law Commission of India till 2000 and was responsible for the amendments to the Hindu Succession Act which gave equal rights to daughters in joint family property. In 2001, she was appointed Vice President of the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) set up by UNESCO and served for a number of years. She now does arbitration work and is involved in human rights activities. She has written her autobiography ‘On Balance’ (Penguin) and a book for children on the preamble to the Indian Constitution titled ‘We the Children of India’ (Penguin). She was a part of the three-member Committee (known as the Justice Verma Committee) which gave its comprehensive report within 29 days on recommendations to amend the criminal law so that speedier justice and enhanced punishment could be given in cases of aggravated sexual assault.