Leila Seth

Leila Seth (20 October 1930 to 5 May 2017) was an Indian jurist who in 1978 became the first woman judge of the Delhi High Court, twice serving as its Acting Chief Justice, and in 1991 became the first woman to serve as Chief Justice of a state High Court when she was appointed to lead the Himachal Pradesh High Court. She had earlier become the first woman designated a senior advocate by the Supreme Court of India, in 1977. As a member of India 15th Law Commission from 1997 to 2000 she helped draft amendments to the Hindu Succession Act granting daughters equal inheritance rights in joint family property, and in 2013 she served on the Justice Verma Committee, which reformed India rape laws following the 2012 Delhi gang rape case.