New Delhi, Feb 3 : The government on Thursday said it has stressed the need to include more and more women and those from the OBC and SC/ST as judges in the judiciary. Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju informed the Rajya Sabha that he has been personally asking the collegium of judges to recommend more and more judges from the above categories. “We have been stressing time and again… personally asking the collegium that while recommending the name for the appointment of judges, preference may be given to women, backward classes, Schedule Caste and Schedule Ttribes,” Rijiju said during Question Hour. Rijiju said that out of 1,098 judges in the high courts across the country, there were 83 women.
“We are happy that out of the total 34 judges in the Supreme Court, we have four women judges… and three women judges were appointed when I took over as the Minister,” Rijiju said. He said the government never held up appointment of judges anywhere in the country. “The government never deliberately held up any appointment. The government has to do due diligence while appointing judges because we have to ensure that he is fit to be a judge. We don’t make delay from our side,” he said.
Responding to a supplementary question on concrete steps taken by the government to include judges of SC/ST categories, he said that there is no provision of reservation while appointing the judges in the judiciary. But the government keeps insisting that preference be given to women judges as well as people belonging to these classes. Replying to a query on the number of women judges in the Patna High Court, the Minister said: “The approved strength of judges in Patna High Court is 53… and there are no women judges there at present. It is sad. We have written to the Chief Justice there to increase the names of women while recommending judges next time.”
