Clutching her new advocate’s gown, Gayatri Singh hurried down the second floor corridor of the Bombay High Court when it reopened in the second week of June. Singh, 60, a prominent human rights lawyer, had in May been named one of the court’s senior advocates, a prestigious designation handed out to a handful of lawyers by high courts across the country every year, signalled by a distinctive gown similar to what judges wear.

When the Bombay High Court list was issued, Singh become the only woman of seven who had been designated a senior. Last year, just one woman was designated alongside 21 men, after an eight-year gap.