78% of the judges in the High Courts are from upper castes, why is that so?
#News Bureau March 26,2027
Recently, an important government information has come to light, which states that about 78% of the judges appointed in the High Courts since the year 2018 are from upper castes. This figure has been presented by the Law Ministry, which also mentioned that only 5% of the judges have been appointed from minority communities and Scheduled Castes/Tribes (SC/ST) during this period. This disclosure raises questions on the efforts of the government and the judiciary towards promoting social diversity.
According to the Law Ministry, out of the total judges appointed in the High Courts since 2018, 78% of the judges are from the general category (upper castes). In contrast, the representation of Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and minority communities has been extremely low. The ministry also informed that the government has repeatedly requested the Chief Justices of the High Courts to pay special attention to qualified candidates belonging to SC, ST, OBC, minorities and women while sending proposals for the appointment of judges to ensure social diversity.
On this issue in Parliament, the Law Minister said that the government is committed to increasing social diversity in the High Courts. For this, a new system was started from 2018, in which it was made mandatory for the persons recommended for the post of judges to give information about their social background. This format was prepared in consultation with the Supreme Court. The minister said, “We have requested the Chief Justices of the High Courts to give priority to socially disadvantaged communities and women while sending appointment proposals.” But the government does not have an answer to the question as to how much action has been taken on this from 2018 till now.
The Modi government, which is running away from caste census, has a different answer on this issue. The Law Minister says that the government has limited powers in this matter. He said that according to constitutional provisions, the proposal for appointment of judges in the High Courts and Supreme Court is based only on the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium and the Chief Justice of the respective High Court. The minister said – “The government appoints only those persons as judges who are recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium.” Apart from this, there is no provision of reservation in the process of appointment of judges, as it is decided under Articles 124, 217 and 224 of the Constitution.
The minister said that the responsibility of presenting the proposal for the appointment of judges lies with the Chief Justice of India in the Supreme Court, while in the High Courts it depends on the Chief Justice of the respective High Court. This process is governed under the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP). The government says that it is constantly insisting that there should be diversity in appointments, but the final decision lies in the hands of the Collegium. The government is doing its arbitrary work in all the constitutional institutions, then if the Collegium is wrong then why did the government not try. BJP is in power at the Centre since 2014.
After this figure came out, social organizations and opposition parties have raised questions on the lack of judges from various disadvantaged communities in the judiciary. Many experts believe that this dominance of upper castes affects the representation of the diverse population of the country. At the same time, some also say that there is a need for transparency and reform in the collegium system so that all communities can get proper representation.
The government has indicated that it will continue to deliberate on the issue and is working swiftly to fill vacancies in the high courts. However, it is clear that better coordination between the judiciary and the government is needed to ensure social diversity. Meanwhile, the figure has revived broader questions of equality and representation in Indian society.
This is why Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other opposition parties are repeatedly demanding caste census so that participation of all communities can be brought in the entire system. Rahul Gandhi has raised the question in and outside the Parliament by giving examples that how many people from OBC category are there at the level of secretaries, deputy secretaries who run the government. The same situation is with all constitutional institutions. Modi government made recruitments by ignoring lateral entry i.e. reservation, in which also people from upper castes dominated. The question is that till when will the public keep watching these conditions as a mute spectator.
