Vera Chakravarty

India's first female judge who championed gender equality in legal systems

Vera Kumari Chakravarty (1900-1975) became India's first female judge in 1934 when she was appointed to the Patna High Court. Born into a Bengali family that valued education, she defied cultural expectations to study law at Kolkata's University of Calcutta. Her landmark 1938 ruling in Ramachandra v. State established legal protections against child marriage, influencing India's Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929. Chakravarty later served as Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court, mentoring generations of female legal professionals. Her advocacy led to the 1947 Indian Citizenship Act granting women equal rights. Today, the National Law University in Kolkata hosts the Vera Chakravarty Memorial Lecture series. Her contributions are detailed in official court records and BBC profiles.