Union Minister of State for Law & Justice (Independent Charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal informed Parliament that 108 women have been appointed as High Court judges out of a total of 698 appointments made since 2018.

He further stated that among these appointments, 22 judges belong to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, 15 to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, 87 to Other Backward Classes (OBC), and 37 to minority communities.

The minister's response came in reply to a query by Member of Parliament Neeraj Dangi, who sought state-wise data on the percentage of SC/ST judges among total judicial appointments across the country. He also inquired about measures being taken to increase the representation of women and SC/ST judges in High Courts.

The Ministry clarified that while data on judges from the district judiciary is not centrally maintained, since 2018, candidates recommended for High Court judgeships are required to disclose their social background in a prescribed format designed in consultation with the Supreme Court.

According to Law Ministry data, district and subordinate courts in the country currently have a total of 20,466 judges, out of which 3,871 judges belong to the SC/ST category, constituting 19% of the total strength.