Three of four High Court judges upper castes; Dalits, tribals account for less than 5%

458 or 75.58% of the 604 HC judges appointed between 2018 and July 17 this year belonged to the General Category.

Three out of four judges appointed to the High Courts in the country since 2018 belong to the upper caste communities while Dalits and tribals together do not touch 5 per cent of the 604 appointed, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.

In a written response to AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Law Minister Arjun Meghwal said information on social background is provided by the recommendees for elevation to High Court judges as per the revised Annexure finalised in 2018.

As per information provided by the recommendees, he said, 458 or 75.58 per cent of the 604 High Court judges appointed between 2018 and July 17 this year belonged to the General Category. Eighteen or 2.98 per cent of the judges belonged to Scheduled Castes while nine or 1.49 per cent belonged to Scheduled Tribes.

When it comes to judges from the OBC communities, there are 72 or 11.92 per cent while 34 or 5.6 per cent of the judges belong to minority communities. Thirteen did not provide this detail.

The Minister’s response came to Owaisi’s question whether it is a fact that 79 per cent judges appointed in High Courts were from the upper castes during the last five years, “indicating inequitable representation of backward and minority” communities.

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According to the 2011 Census, Scheduled Castes account for 16.6 per cent of the population, while Scheduled Tribes account for 8.6 per cent. Minority communities, meanwhile, represent 19.3 per cent of the population.

There is no official count for OBCs in the country, as caste is not counted during Census. However, the OBC population is counted at 52 per cent, if one goes by the Mandal Commission calculation.

Meghwal said appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts is made under Articles 124, 217 and 224 of the Constitution, which do not provide for reservation for any caste or class of persons.

"However, the Government has been requesting the Chief Justices of High Courts that while sending proposals for appointment of judges, due consideration be given to suitable candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, minorities and women to ensure social diversity in the appointment of judges in High Courts," he said.

"As per the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts, the government appoints only those persons who are recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium," he said.