'Provide reservation for SCs, STs'

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI, JAN. 2. The Centre has written to the Chief Ministers of all States and the Chief Justices of various High Courts requesting them to identify persons from the Bar belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and women for appointment as High Court judges.

According to highly placed sources in the Government, the letter assumes significance in the context of a parliamentary

panel recommending to the Centre to take ``concrete'' steps, if need be, by amending the Constitution to provide for reservation to SC/STs in the appointment of judges to High Courts and the Supreme Court.

In the perception of the Government, appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are made under Articles 124 and 217 of the Constitution, which do not provide for reservation for any caste or class of persons. The Law Commission has also not made any recommendation for the appointment of women lawyers as judges of High Courts and the Supreme Court.

However, the Government has noted that at present, out of 610 High Court judges, there are less than 10 women judges and the number of SC/ST judges is around 20. The Government, therefore, is very keen to appoint members of the weaker sections as judges of High Courts provided the State Governments and the Chief Justices of the respective High Courts recommended suitable persons from the Bar belonging to these communities.

In its second report presented to the Lok Sabha, the 31-member Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (1999-2000) had observed, ``It is abundantly clear that the SC/STs have dismal representation in the judiciary, the other equally important wing of the State either in the administrative side or the judicial side.''

The Committee was of the firm opinion that there was no legal and constitutional bar for providing reservation in the judiciary. ``What is apparently lacking is the political will and sincerity to do the needful. The provision of Article 15 (4), as interpreted by the Supreme Court should be applied to the appointment of Supreme Court and High Court judges without any further loss of time.'' The committee felt that the crux of the problem was that the Government had not considered the issue nor made any efforts to resolve it. The Centre has also received several representations particularly from Tamil Nadu, on the need for appointing judges from among women, SC/STs and OBCs.

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