Tracker · Power
Who judges: 33 of 849 High Court judges appointed since 2018 are SC
Of the judges appointed to the High Courts since 2018, how many are from Scheduled Castes?
Key takeaways
- 33 of the 849 High Court judges appointed since 2018 (3.9%) declared themselves Scheduled Caste. Exhibit 1
- Of judges appointed after 31 December 2022, 5.8% declared SC, against 2.8% from 2018 to then. Exhibit 2
- Of 849 judges appointed since 2018, 33 declared SC, 17 declared ST, 104 declared OBC and 46 declared a minority. Exhibit 3
- The counts come from 18 Lok Sabha answers since 17 March 2023, each a running total since 2018 of what the judges declared. Exhibit 4
Judges appointed to India’s High Courts, the highest courts of the States and Union Territories, from 2018 to 9 March 2026, and how many declared themselves Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC) or from a minority, as the Ministry of Law and Justice has told the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s Parliament, in 18 answers from 17 March 2023 to 20 March 2026.
- High Court judges appointed since 2018 declared themselves SC, to 9 Mar 2026
- 33 of 849
- SC share of High Court judges appointed since 2018
- 3.9%
Exhibit 2
Of the 309 judges appointed after 31 December 2022, 18 (5.8%) declared SC, against 15 of 540 (2.8%) from 2018 to then
SC judges as a share of High Court judges appointed in each period, %. The second period is the difference between the counts for 31 Dec 2022 and 9 Mar 2026.
Bars: SC share of High Court judges appointed. 2018 to 31 Dec 2022: 15 of 540, 2.8%. 31 Dec 2022 to 9 Mar 2026: 18 of 309, 5.8%.
- 2018 to 31 Dec 20222.8%
- 31 Dec 2022 to 9 Mar 20265.8%
Note: The second period is worked out by taking one count from the other. Shorter periods are not shown: their counts are small enough to point to individual judges.
Source: Ministry of Law and Justice, Lok Sabha starred question 411, 28 March 2025 (count to 31 Dec 2022) and Lok Sabha unstarred question 3545, 13 March 2026 (count to 9 Mar 2026); counts as the recommendees declared them. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026. Exhibit 3
Of 849 judges appointed since 2018, 33 declared SC, 17 declared ST, 104 declared OBC and 46 declared a minority, to 9 March 2026
High Court judges appointed from 2018 to 9 Mar 2026 who declared each category, and their share of all 849, in the order the answer gives them.
Table: Scheduled Castes (SC) 33, 3.9%; Scheduled Tribes (ST) 17, 2.0%; Other Backward Classes (OBC) 104, 12.2%; Minority 46, 5.4%; of 849 judges appointed.
Category declared Judges Share of all appointed Scheduled Castes (SC) 33 3.9% Scheduled Tribes (ST) 17 2.0% Other Backward Classes (OBC) 104 12.2% Minority 46 5.4% Note: The answer does not say whether the categories overlap (a judge from a religious minority may also be OBC, for example), so they are not added up, and the rest are not called “general”.
Source: Ministry of Law and Justice, Lok Sabha unstarred question 3545, 13 March 2026, “Appointment of Judges in High Courts”; counts as the recommendees declared them. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026. Exhibit 4
The government has given the Lok Sabha a count of SC judges appointed to the High Courts since 2018 in 18 answers since 17 March 2023
Each answer’s count of High Court judges appointed since 2018, and of those who declared each category, as the answer gives it. A dash means the answer does not give that figure.
Table of 18 answers, with the date each count runs to, judges appointed, and SC, ST, OBC and minority judges.
Answer Count runs to Judges appointed SC ST OBC Minority Unstarred 2971, 17 Mar 2023 not stated 569 17 9 – – Unstarred 4033, 24 Mar 2023 20 Mar 2023 575 17 9 67 18 Unstarred 4119, 24 Mar 2023 not stated 575 17 9 67 18 Unstarred 251, 21 Jul 2023 17 Jul 2023 604 18 9 72 34 Unstarred 1325, 9 Feb 2024 not stated 653 20 12 77 – Unstarred 803, 26 Jul 2024 22 Jul 2024 661 21 12 78 – Unstarred 809, 26 Jul 2024 22 Jul 2024 661 21 12 78 – Unstarred 1996, 6 Dec 2024 not stated 684 21 14 82 37 Unstarred 3117, 13 Dec 2024 9 Dec 2024 684 21 14 82 37 Starred 411, 28 Mar 2025 31 Dec 2022 540 15 7 57 27 Unstarred 5677, 4 Apr 2025 not stated 719 22 16 – – Starred 197, 1 Aug 2025 28 Jul 2025 753 24 17 93 42 Unstarred 2175, 1 Aug 2025 28 Jul 2025 753 24 17 93 42 Unstarred 3417, 8 Aug 2025 28 Jul 2025 753 24 17 93 42 Unstarred 1598, 9 Dec 2025 28 Nov 2025 841 32 17 103 46 Unstarred 3525, 13 Mar 2026 not stated 849 33 17 – – Unstarred 3545, 13 Mar 2026 9 Mar 2026 849 33 17 104 46 Unstarred 4642, 20 Mar 2026 not stated 849 33 17 – – Note: Where an answer does not say what date its count runs to, the column shows “not stated”. Several answers repeat the same count.
Source: Ministry of Law and Justice, answers in the Lok Sabha, 17 March 2023 to 20 March 2026 (18 answers, listed under Sources); counts as the recommendees declared them. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026.
What’s next
The next update
We will update these figures after the next Lok Sabha answer that gives a count. This is version 1.
What the data can’t tell us yet
Who serves on the High Courts now, any one High Court, or any judge appointed before 2018: the government keeps no such count, and caste is never inferred from names.
What you can do
- Cite this piece.
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About this data
- What this shows
- How many of the judges appointed to the High Courts since 2018 declared themselves SC, ST, OBC or from a minority, at each date the government gave the Lok Sabha a count.
- Source
- Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, 18 documents. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026. Every source
- What it does not show
- Who serves on the High Courts now, any one High Court, or any judge appointed before 2018: the government keeps no such count, and caste is never inferred from names.
- Last updated
- 9 Oct 2026 · Next expected update: after the next Lok Sabha answer that gives a count
- Corrections
- Changelog (version 1) · Corrections policy