Women were included in the legal profession after the enactment of ____.

Legal Practitioners (Women) Act, 1923

The correct answer is Option (2) → Legal Practitioners (Women) Act, 1923

Legal practice in India, as in most other countries, is a male dominated profession. In 1916, the Calcutta High Court, and in 1922, the Patna High Court had held that women otherwise qualified were not entitled to be enrolled as Vakil or Pleader. In the Patna High Court case, Ms. Hazra, the petitioner, secured a B.L. degree from Calcutta University. She was refused enrolment as a Pleader. She challenged this in the High Court of Patna. The Court rules that the sections of the Legal Practitioner's Act referred to males and not females. Since 1793, no woman had ever been admitted to the roll of pleaders.

To remove doubts about the eligibility of women to be enrolled and to practise as legal practitioners, the Legal Practitioners (Women) Act, III of 1923, was enacted to expressly provide that no woman would by reason only of her sex disqualified from being admitted or enrolled as a legal practitioner or from practising as such. The Allahabad High Court took the lead by enrolling Ms. Cornelia Sorabji as the first Indian lady Vakil of Allahabad High Court on 24 August, 1921 by a decision of the English Committee of the Court (as the Administrative Committee was then called), consisting of Chief Justice Sir Grim Wood Meers. Since then, although the number of women entering into the profession has increased gender bias still pervades the profession.