Ex-HC Chief Justice SureshKumar Kait demanded reservation for the underprivileged sections in the judiciary. He said, “Collegium is unfair to SC/ST/OBC”.
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NEW DELHI: EX-Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh HC, Suresh Kumar Kait, while addressing a program in Bhopal organised by the Confederation of Dalits, OBC, Minorities and Adivasi Organisation (DOMA), said, the collegium system for selection of judges to constitutional courts is “dishonest” in its treatment of people from the scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes (ST) and other backward classes (OBC).
Justice Kait said,
“I was a judge of the Delhi High Court, and I was the only one from this group. There was no judge from the SC, ST, and OBC (Other Backward Classes). Till date, no SC, ST, AND BC advocate has become a judge. This is something that we need to think about.”
Former Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Suresh Kumar Kait, has ignited a crucial debate by demanding caste-based reservation in the Indian judiciary. Criticizing the existing collegium system for judicial appointments, he described it as “dishonest” in its treatment of candidates from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
Kait emphasized that the judiciary, despite being a pillar of justice, has failed to reflect the social diversity of the country. Citing data, he pointed out that only 27 out of 279 Supreme Court judges since independence have belonged to SC, ST, or OBC communities, a disproportionately low figure considering the demographics of the country.
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He further stated that in Madhya Pradesh, where SCs and STs collectively make up over 37% of the population, not a single judge from these communities has been appointed to the High Court either from the service or the Bar. He said,
“But, till date, not a single ST-SC judge has come to the Madhya Pradesh High Court from service nor has become an advocate judge.”
Highlighting this imbalance, Kait stressed the urgent need for proportionate representation, arguing that every community must be fairly represented in institutions that shape the law and deliver justice.
“This country does not belong to any one caste but to all castes and all religions. The participation in it should be as much as the number (proportion in population.”
He further noted that in institutions where there is no provision for reservation, like the judiciary, the representation of underprivileged communities remains very low.
“I am considering only the judiciary. In the Supreme Court, only eight judges including Justice Gavai became judge from SC/ST and backward classes. It is not like that there are no lawyers from the backward classes.”
As per the 2011 Census, Scheduled Castes constituted 15.6% and Scheduled Tribes 21.6% of Madhya Pradesh’s population, while there are no official estimates available for the OBC population in the state.
Emphasizing the need for reservation in the judiciary, Justice Kait stated,
“If I talk about the high courts of the whole country, then SC, ST and backward class together make up 15 to 16% of judges as of today. This will continue until you raise your voice.”
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