There is a diversity deficit in Supreme Court: Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson flags concern to Law Minister Kiren Rijiju

Senior Advocate and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament P Wilson has written to Union Law Minster Kiren Rijiju urging for diversity to be included as a mandatory criterion in the Memorandum of Procedure (MOP) yet to be charted out for the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary..A representative judiciary is crucial to ensuring social justice, Wilson has highlighted in a letter dated August 14, 2021..Wilson has raised concern that there are disturbing trends noticed in the composition of the Supreme Court of India and the High Courts as there has been a decline in representation from all sections of society. "Thus, no social justice is ensured in the appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court. There is a 'diversity deficit' in our Supreme Court and the Court is not reflective of the wonderfully diverse and pluralistic society of India. Judicial diversity is fundamental to the quality of judging," Wilson said. .Wilson goes on to emphasise that the poor representation of social groups in the judiciary would endanger the proper safeguarding of their rights."People of this country are afraid that a very narrow, homogeneous group of Judges belonging to certain class alone cannot necessarily reflect the views and values of society as a whole, particularly on issues involving diverse, linguistic, cultural and generational matters because they would require more perspectives, as Judges would interpret and enforce law based on their own backgrounds. A more diverse judiciary is desirable because without one, the chances are greatly increased for a violation of the rights on those under represented classes and could indirectly imply discrimination. How else can one explain the lack of numbers of women and judges from historically oppressed sections of society and from minority communities on the Bench of the Court?", Wilson asked. .Wilson further highlights that the "significant overrepresentation of certain sections" calls into question the objectivity of the current system and its inability to recruit from different social groups. There is much to gain from having a judiciary that reflects society in all its diversity, he has appealed. The absence of judges from all sections of society in the Supreme Court threatens to erode public confidence in the judiciary, the letter stated. .He goes on to explain that the lack of diversity in judicial appointments may give rise to affinity bias in passing judgments. "It is a deep-rooted human response well recognised by behavioural sciences. Bias will creeping to judgments obviously reducing their fairness and therefore their quality. A more diverse judiciary would therefore self-correct unconscious or conscious bias," Wilson said. .He further emphasises that a limited pool of judges may mean that "we simply aren’t making use of the available pool of talent.""Diversity in judiciary can be achieved while still maintaining the requirements of merit like knowledge in law, wisdom, qualitative personality, impeccable integrity etc. for determining eligibility and suitability in judicial appointments in the Supreme Court," he added. .In this backdrop, Wilson has urged that steps be taken to factor in diversity when it comes to formulating an MoP for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts. The MoP, he has noted, is yet to be settled between the Union government and the Supreme Court. "This Memorandum of Procedure is going to ultimately govern appointment of judges of Supreme Court and High Courts. The Law Ministry particularly the Justice Department plays an important role in the process of appointment of Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts including advising the Union and especially the Hon'ble President of India. Under these circumstances, the Union should impress upon the Hon'ble Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and all the Hon'ble Chief Justices of various High Courts in this country to ensure social diversity for a representative judiciary," Wilson said. .In the absence of steps to incorporate diversity as a mandatory factor in the appointment of judges, an inclusive judiciary would remain a distant dream and an empty slogan relegated to speeches and text books, the letter went on to stated..Wilson had earlier raised this issue on the floor of the Rajya Sabha as well as in a letter to the President of India. .In response, former Law Minister RS Prasad had earlier maintained that the Central government has been urging that the interests of diverse representation be considered when it comes to High Court appointments..[Read Letter]