Indu Malhotra

Indu Malhotra is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India. Post retirement, she is practicing as a full-time arbitrator in international and domestic arbitrations. Prior to her elevation, she was practicing as a Senior Counsel in the Supreme Court of India, and various High Courts. In 2007, she was the second woman to be designated as a Senior Counsel by the Supreme Court, after more than three decades. In 2018, she was the first woman to be elevated directly from the Bar as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India. She demitted office in March 2021 on completion of her term. She has contributed significantly to arbitration jurisprudence, both as a counsel and as a judge.

She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London.

Recently, V. Mohana, a Senior advocate practising in Supreme Court of India, who has been recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for elevation as Judge of the Supreme Court. If the Collegium’s recommendation is accepted, Mohana will become only the second woman after Justice Indu Malhotra, in the Supreme Court’s history to be directly elevated from the Bar.

Early life and education Indu Malhotra is the daughter of Late Sh. Om Prakash Malhotra, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court and author, and Satya Malhotra.

She did her schooling from Carmel Convent School, New Delhi, Thereafter, she did her Bachelors and Masters in Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. After obtaining her Masters Degree, she worked briefly as a lecturer in Political Science at Miranda House and Vivekananda College, Delhi University.

In 1982, she completed her Law Degree (LL.B.) from the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi and enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi and took to the practice of Law as her profession.

She has been appointed as an arbitrator by various arbitral institutions including the ICC International Court of Arbitration, Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA), Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA), Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), and Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Apart from her judicial career, she has been deeply engaged in academia. She has authored the 3rd and 4th edition of the well-known Commentary on the Arbitration Act, which has been cited by the Supreme Court and the High Courts in various judgments.

In 2005, she was nominated in the category of ‘eminent person’ by the then Chief Justice of India to the General Council of Gujarat National Law University.

She is also engaged in public service and is actively involved as a Trustee of the Save Life Foundation (“SLF”) which is a public charitable trust. SLF has pioneered various initiatives for improving road safety and emergency medical care to address the issue of the high number of fatalities caused by road crashes in India. SLF has also filed various PILs in the Supreme Court, including a PIL for the framing of guidelines for protection of Good Samaritans, which led to the insertion of Section 134-A in the Motor Vehicles Act to provide statutory protection to Good Samaritans from any civil or criminal proceedings. SLF has launched various initiatives such as the Zero Fatality Corridor on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. SLF has recently filed a PIL on the right to Trauma Care, being a constituent of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, and a part of the “minimum core obligations of the State”.

Membership of committees and nominations

Nominated by the Chief Justice of India as the Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the Consortium of National Law Universities in India in June 2023. and Fourth Edition (Wolters Kluwer, 2020) of the Commentary on the Law of Arbitration in India. The Commentary has been cited by the Supreme Court and High Courts in various landmark and seminal Judgments.