Lok Sabha Questions : A caste question in judicial appointments

What

• Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed Lok Sabha on Friday that over 75% of all judges appointed in high courts since 2018 are from the upper caste.
• Out of 604 high court judges appointed since 2018 till July 17 this year, 458 belong to the general category, 18 belong to Scheduled Castes, nine belong to Scheduled Tribes, 72 were OBCs and 34 from the minority community, the minister told the Parliament.

Why

• The minister was responding to a question from AIMIM chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi asking whether it was true that 79% judges appointed in all High Courts during the last five years were from upper caste.

Not the first time

• Late last year, the Department of Justice had told a parliamentary panel that a little over 15% of the judges appointed to high courts in the last five years were from backward communities. In its report, it had further pointed out that even after three decades of the judiciary assuming primacy in judges’ appointment, it has not become inclusive and socially diverse.
• To be sure, 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 caste-based reservation.

Timing

• It interestingly comes days after Supreme Court collegium overruled objections of the Department of Justice to recommend appointment of four advocates as judges of Bombay, Madras and Karnataka high courts saying their elevation would increase the representation of women, marginalised communities – specifically highlighting how one of the appointed judges belonged to SC community and another was OBC.

Big picture

• The union government highlighting alleged lack of inclusivity and social diversity in judicial appointments has often been a part of the larger NJAC vs Collegium fight.
• The Modi government brought the NJAC Act in 2014 to pave the way for a new system of appointing judges but the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 2015, triggering a long-standing tussle between the two.