A total of 661 high court judges have been appointed in the last six years with over 75 per cent of them coming from the general category, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

The issue of poor representation of persons from socially backward sections such as SCs, STs and OBCs among high court judges prompted a Rajya Sabha member to demand reservation in the higher judiciary.

Law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal shared the data in a written reply to a question by DMK MP P. Wilson, who wanted to know what steps the government had taken to ensure social diversity in the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court and high courts and the feasibility of establishing regional benches of the apex court in the country.

Judges in the higher judiciary are appointed by a collegium system where the names are recommended by the collegium and approved by the government. There is no reservation in such appointments.

The minister said: “Since 2018, the recommendees for the post of high court judges are required to provide details regarding their social background in the prescribed format (prepared in consultation with the Supreme Court).

"Hence, since 2018 the data on appointees to that extent has been available. Out of 661 high court judges appointed since 2018, 21 belong to the SC category, 12 to the ST category, 78 to the OBC category and 499 to the general category (till July 22, 2024),” the minister said.

Wilson told The Telegraph that the data in the government’s reply was not adding up. According to the data, among the newly appointed judges, 11.8 per cent are OBCs, 3.17 per cent are SCs and 1.81 per cent are STs.