Outgoing CJI B.R. Gavai has released official data showing that 93 out of 129 names were approved for High Court judges during his tenure. The figures also reveal details on caste, minority and women representation in the Collegium’s recommendations.
The outgoing Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice B. R. Gavai, has made public important data related to the recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointments to various High Courts.
This data not only shows how many names were considered and approved but also clearly mentions the social background of the candidates, bringing more transparency to the judicial appointment process.
Justice Gavai continued the transparency practice started by his predecessor, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who had
“for the first time released data on appointments of judges to the High Courts approved by the Supreme Court Collegium during his tenure as CJI (November 11, 2024, to May 13, 2025)”.
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The data highlights whether the candidates belonged to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), minority communities, or were women. This move is being seen as a step towards making the collegium system more open and accountable to the public.
As per the information uploaded on the Supreme Court website, from May 14, 2025, the day Justice Gavai assumed office as CJI and became head of the Collegium, a total of 129 names were considered for appointment as High Court judges. Out of these, only 93 names received approval from the Supreme Court Collegium.
Among the approved candidates, 11 were from the OBC/BC category, 10 belonged to the SC category, 13 were from minority communities, 15 were women, and 5 were related to sitting or former judges. This data has also raised discussions on representation, diversity, and family connections within the judiciary.
For the Allahabad High Court, the Collegium recommended 27 names. However, two of these names, Advocates Adnan Ahmed and Jai Krishna Upadhyay, are still waiting for government approval. Out of the 25 judges who were appointed, four are sons or daughters of former Allahabad High Court judges.
These include Justice Vivek Saran, son of former Justice Virendra Saran; Justice Vivek Kumar Singh (OBC), son of former Justice Ved Pal; Ms Garima Prasad, daughter of former Justice Sudhir Narain Agarwal; and Judicial Officer Sanjiv Kumar, son of former Justice Khem Karan.
Among these appointees, three belonged to OBC, two to SC, and four were women judges. It is also noted that the only Muslim candidate, Adnan Ahmed, was not appointed.
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For the Andhra Pradesh High Court, only one name was recommended, belonging to the backward class category, and this recommendation was approved by the government.
Regarding the Bombay High Court, the Collegium led by CJI Gavai recommended 17 names, and all of them were cleared by the government.
Among the 17 appointees, there were 2 women, 3 from SC, 3 from OBC, and 2 from Muslim minority communities. One notable name is Advocate Sushil Manohar Ghodeswar, who is the son of former Bombay High Court judge Justice Manohar Bansiji Ghodeswar.
An interesting point mentioned in the data relates to Advocate Raj Damodar Wakode, who is CJI Gavai’s nephew. He has not been shown as a “relative” because the defined list of relatives released by the Supreme Court does not include nephew or niece.
For the Delhi High Court, four names were recommended and all were approved. These included only judicial officers. Among them were 2 women, one from the general category and one from a minority community, and 1 candidate from the OBC category.
In the Gauhati High Court, four names were recommended, all belonging to the general category. Similarly, for the Himachal Pradesh High Court, two names were recommended and both were from the general category.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court saw ten names being recommended and approved. Among them, one candidate belonged to OBC and two to SC, while none of the appointees were women.
For the Karnataka High Court, three names were recommended. Out of these, one was a woman, one belonged to OBC, and one from the general category.
In the Punjab and Haryana High Court, eleven names were recommended and all were approved. This included five women judges, one of whom belonged to the SC category, three from minority communities, and none from OBC.
In the case of the Patna High Court, two names were recommended. Only one candidate belonging to the SC category was appointed, while the OBC candidate’s appointment is still pending.
For the Telangana High Court, four names were recommended and approved, with one candidate belonging to a minority community.
In the Rajasthan High Court, five names were recommended and appointed. Among them, one belonged to the SC category and one was a woman.
Although the Supreme Court has not officially released details about the social background of the five judges elevated to the Supreme Court during Justice Gavai’s tenure (May 14, 2025 – November 2025), it is in the public domain that four judges belong to the “General” category, and one judge comes from the OBC category.
This overall data provides a clearer picture of how judicial appointments are being handled and reflects the growing demand for transparency and diversity in India’s higher judiciary.
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