Parliament Watch: Only 22% of High Court judges appointed in 6 years from disadvantaged classes; no consensus on AIJS

The fourth day of the Winter Session 2023 of Indian Parliament saw questions answered on judicial appointments, the All India Judicial Services (AIJS) and funding of the India International Arbitration Centre (IIAC)..Here is a recap of questions asked and answered on December 7..110 High Court judges appointed in 2023, 122 proposals pending.In response to a question posed by Gujarat Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal disclosed that as of the commencement of 2023, 171 proposals received from High Court Collegiums were at various stages of processing.Throughout the year 2023, an additional 121 fresh proposals were received, taking the number of proposals to be considered to 292.From these 292 proposals, 110 judges have been appointed, and 60 recommendations were remitted to the High Courts based on the advice of the Supreme Court Collegium, leaving 122 pending proposals.Of the 122 proposals, 87 were forwarded to the Collegium for advice, and the Collegium has provided guidance on 45 proposals, which are now at various stages of processing within the government. 42 are still pending with the Collegium.The remaining 35 fresh proposals received recently are being processed for seeking the advice of the Collegium..In comparison, 165 judges were appointed to High Courts in 2022..No consensus on proposal for setting up AIJS.Maharashtra Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Shukla brought up the issue of setting up an All India Judicial Service (AIJS).Meghwal pointed out that a comprehensive proposal for AIJS formulated in 2012 faced a divergence of opinions, revealing a split among state governments and High Courts. The response further stated that discussions in conferences in 2013, 2015, and 2022 did not lead to a consensus. Therefore, in view of the divergence of opinion amongst the major stakeholders, at present, there is no consensus on the proposal for setting up AIJS..Only 145 High Court judges appointed in past six years belong to minorities .Kerala MP Dr John Brittas requested information regarding the number of judges who were women and judges belonging to minority communities in the High Courts and Supreme Court..Meghwal revealed that over the past six years, of the 650 judges appointed to various High Courts, 23 belonged to Scheduled Castes (SCs), 10 to Scheduled Tribes (STs), 76 to other backward classes, and 36 to minorities. Information on 13 judges is unavailable..In the Supreme Court, only 3 judges are women, namely Justices Hima Kohli, BV Nagarathna and Bela Trivedi.Out of 790 judges in High Courts across the country, only 111 are women. The High Courts of Meghalaya, Uttarakhand and Tripura have no women judges..₹3.75 crore released to IIAC since inception in 2022.In response to a question by Maharashtra Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Meghwal disclosed that since the inception of the India International Arbitration Centre (IIAC) in June 2022, ₹3.75 crore has been released to the institution. This includes ₹2.25 crore in 2022-23 and ₹1.5 crore in 2023-24..No proposal to issue further guidelines to regulate arbitrators fees.Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha sought to know whether the government proposes to issue any guidelines to regulate the fees of arbitrators and arbitration processes..The Law Ministry stated that if an arbitration proceeding is administered by an arbitral institution, arbitrators' fees follow the institution's rules and for ad hoc arbitrations, the Supreme Court has provided guidelines for determining arbitrators' fees on a case-by-case basis.Further, the response by the Ministry highlighted that the Arbitration and Conciliation Act outlines the Model Fee in the Fourth Schedule, and Sections 38 and 31A address deposits for costs and costs related to arbitration proceedings, respectively.Further guidelines were not required, the Ministry said..[Read Questions and Answers]