Chief Justice of India BR Gavai. | Photo credit: File
Outgoing Chief Justice of India BR Gavai released the names and social data of the candidates approved by his collegium, with women as a class outnumbering those from other backward classes, backward classes and scheduled castes.
Out of a total of 129 names considered for appointment by the high court since Chief Justice Gavai took over as chief justice on May 14, the collegium approved 93 names. The candidates came from both the lower judiciary and the bar.
Of these, 15 were women, while OBC/BC candidates were 11, names from Scheduled Caste communities were 10, minorities 13 and those related to judges were five.
Four of the women candidates belonged to minority communities, while one was from a Scheduled Caste community.
Chief Justice Gavai, who retires on November 23, continues the tradition of transparency started by his predecessor Justice Sanjiv Khanna in May 2025.
In May, the Supreme Court released all the details of the 221 names approved by the Supreme Court collegiums headed by former CJIs, Justices (retired) DY Chandrachud and Khanna.
This data showed that only half of the names recommended by state governments and a collegium of high courts were approved by the Supreme Court collegium after intensive vetting and background checks.
A total of 303 names were recommended during Justice Chandrachud’s two-year tenure as Chief Justice from 9 November 2022 to 10 November 2024. Chandrachud Collegium approved just over half, 170 names.
While a dozen of these names that passed the assembly were of sitting or former Supreme Court or High Court judges, the number of names selected from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Most Backward and Backward communities was in single digits, seven, five and seven, respectively.
21 candidates approved by Chandrachud Collegium belonged to Other Backward Communities (OBC), women numbering 28 and 23 candidates were drawn from minorities.
As of 10 November 2024, when the Collegium was chaired by Justice Khanna, 103 names were received, of which 51 were approved, again just over half. Of these candidates approved by the college, only two had relatives in the judiciary.
Seventeen names approved by the previous collegiums were appointed as High Court judges during Chief Justice Gavai’s tenure as Chief Justice. One of them was a lawyer from a minority community.
However, the number of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates cleared for appointment by the High Court again remained in single digits, one and two.
Published – 22 Nov 2025 22:08 IST
