New Delhi, September 15, 2026: The Delhi High Court has nominated Senior Advocate Sonia Mathur and Advocate Monika Arora as the two women members of the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD).
The nomination has been made by Delhi High Court Chief Justice Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya pursuant to directions issued by the Supreme Court for the inclusion of two women members in State Bar Councils.
The Delhi High Court communicated the nominations to the Bar Council of Delhi through a letter issued on September 15, 2026.
According to the communication, Sonia Mathur, Senior Advocate, bearing enrolment number D/328/1990, and Monika Arora, Advocate, bearing enrolment number D/912/2007, have been nominated as women members of the Bar Council of Delhi.
Supreme Court direction
The nominations follow the Supreme Court’s order dated September 2, 2026 in M. Varadhan v. Union of India & Ors., W.P. (C) No. 1049 of 2026.
The Supreme Court had directed the Chief Justices of High Courts to complete the process of co-option of two women members to the respective State Bar Councils within two weeks. The direction was part of the Court’s efforts to facilitate the reconstitution of State Bar Councils and expedite the process for the election of the new office-bearers of the Bar Council of India.
The Supreme Court had further directed that the women members should be nominated by the concerned High Court Chief Justices from among former women High Court judges or senior women members of the Bar having a fair standing.
Delhi Bar Council composition
The Bar Council of Delhi consists of 25 members. Elections for the Council were held in February 2026, with 23 members elected through the electoral process, while two additional women members were required to be co-opted.
The Government of NCT of Delhi’s August 2026 Gazette notification recorded that the names of the remaining two women members would be forwarded for publication after they were recommended by the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, thereby completing the 25-member composition of the Council.
With the nomination of Sonia Mathur and Monika Arora, the two vacancies for co-opted women members have now been filled.
Sonia Mathur and Monika Arora
Sonia Mathur is a Senior Advocate practising before the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court. She has also represented the Bar Council of Delhi in proceedings before the Supreme Court.
Monika Arora is an advocate practising before the Delhi High Court and has appeared in matters involving constitutional, administrative and public-law issues.
The nominations formally bring both lawyers into the composition of the Bar Council of Delhi as its two co-opted women members.
The development comes ahead of the next steps in the reconstitution of State Bar Councils and the subsequent process for the election of office-bearers and representatives to the Bar Council of India. The Supreme Court had directed that once the composition of State Bar Councils is notified, the newly constituted Councils should elect their Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, other office-bearers and representative to the Bar Council of India within the prescribed timeline.
