Who judges: 33 of 849 High Court judges appointed since 2018 are SC

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.

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.

Sources

Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 2971, “SC/ST Advocates and Judges”, dated 17 Mar 2023. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 4033, “Suggestion for Socially Inclusive Judiciary”, dated 24 Mar 2023. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 4119, “Use of Tamil in Madras High Court”, dated 24 Mar 2023. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 251, “Representation of Weaker Sections in High Court Judges”, dated 21 Jul 2023. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 1325, “Vacancy in High Courts”, dated 9 Feb 2024. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 803, “Delay in Appointment of High Court Judges”, dated 26 Jul 2024. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 809, “Appointment of judges in judiciary”, dated 26 Jul 2024. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 1996, “Appointment of Judges of Weaker Section in Judiciary”, dated 6 Dec 2024. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 3117, “Representation of Judges of Weaker Section in Supreme Court and High Courts”, dated 13 Dec 2024. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Starred Question 411, “Representation of Judges of Weaker Communities in Courts”, dated 28 Mar 2025. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 5677, “Number of SC/ST Judges in Higher Judiciary and Tribunals”, dated 4 Apr 2025. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Starred Question 197, “Social diversity in Judiciary”, dated 1 Aug 2025. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 2175, “Inclusivity in the Higher Judiciary”, dated 1 Aug 2025. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 3417, “Appointment of Judges in Courts”, dated 8 Aug 2025. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 1598, “Reservation for SC, ST and OBC Judges”, dated 9 Dec 2025. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 3525, “SC/ST Judges in Judiciary”, dated 13 Mar 2026. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 3545, “Appointment of Judges in High Courts”, dated 13 Mar 2026. Primary source.
Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 4642, “SC-ST Judges in Higher Judiciary and Union Tribunals”, dated 20 Mar 2026. Primary source.

Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026.

Read these with the numbers

The counts are of what the judges declared, in a form recommendees have filled in since 2018. No answer gives a count for judges appointed before 2018, for judges now serving, or for any one High Court.
Appointments to the High Courts are made under Articles 217 and 224 of the Constitution, which, the answers say, provide no reservation for any caste or class. There is no reserved share to measure the counts against.
Each count is a running total since 2018, not the judges serving on any date: judges who have retired, died or moved to the Supreme Court are still counted.
3 counts (569 judges, 17 SC; 653 judges, 20 SC; 719 judges, 22 SC) are dated by the answer that gave them: no answer says what date they run to.
Lok Sabha unstarred question 1996, 6 December 2024, gave the count of 684 judges and 21 SC before 9 December 2024, the date Lok Sabha unstarred question 3117, 13 December 2024, says it runs to. The later date is used.
Lok Sabha unstarred question 251, 21 July 2023, says that for 13 of the 604 judges in its count, the form gave no information on category. Other answers do not say how many judges gave none.
The earliest count found is for 31 December 2022, given in Lok Sabha starred question 411, 28 March 2025. No answer found from before 17 March 2023 gives a count.

Key terms

Recommendee: A person recommended for appointment as a High Court judge. Since 2018 each fills in a form giving their social background, which is where the counts come from.
Appointed since 2018: Every judge appointed to any High Court from 2018 to the date of the count, whether or not still serving.
SC, ST, OBC: Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, the categories the answers count.
Articles 217 and 224: The articles of the Constitution under which High Court judges are appointed. They provide no reservation.

Changelog and corrections

Version 1: First version: 18 counts from 18 Lok Sabha answers, the latest to 9 March 2026.

How corrections work. Every change is listed here.

Cite this

The Dalit Project, “Who judges: 33 of 849 High Court judges appointed since 2018 are SC”, version 1, data.dalitproject.org/hc-judges/, as on 9 Oct 2026.