SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh continue to face a significant shortage of judges in their High Court, even as the Union government reiterated in Parliament that there is no constitutional provision for caste-based reservation in appointments to the higher judiciary.
In a written reply to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha, the Ministry of Law and Justice disclosed that the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh is functioning with 14 judges against a sanctioned strength of 25, leaving 11 vacancies, one of the highest proportional shortfalls among High Courts in the country.
The information was shared by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal in response to a question raised by Prof Manoj Kumar Jha on representation of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the judiciary.
As of January 27, 2026, High Courts across India have a combined 308 vacancies, with only 814 judges in position against a sanctioned strength of 1,122, according to the details tabled in Parliament. Besides Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, other High Courts facing acute shortages include Allahabad (50 vacancies), Calcutta (29), Punjab & Haryana (24) and Madras (22).
The Supreme Court, by contrast, is nearly at full strength, with 33 judges working against a sanctioned strength of 34, leaving just one vacancy.
The government underlined that appointments to the Supreme Court and High Courts are governed by Articles 124, 217 and 224 of the Constitution, which do not provide for reservation for any caste or class. As a result, category-wise data on SC, ST or OBC representation among sitting judges is not centrally maintained.
However, since 2018, candidates recommended for High Court judgeships are required to voluntarily disclose their social background. Based on this data, the government informed Parliament that out of 847 judges appointed between 2018 and 23 January 2026, only 33 belonged to the SC category; 17 to the ST category;
104 to the OBC category and 46 to minority communities. During the same period, 130 women were appointed as High Court judges.
The government said it has been “consistently requesting” Chief Justices of High Courts to give due consideration to candidates from SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities and women while forwarding recommendations, though final appointments are made only on the basis of Supreme Court Collegium recommendations, as per the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP).
While the higher judiciary shows limited visibility of social diversity, more granular data is available for the district and subordinate courts, which fall under the administrative control of State governments and High Courts.
According to details tabled in the House, Jammu and Kashmir has 57 judges from SC/ST/OBC categories in its district and subordinate judiciary, out of a total working strength of 270, translating into 21.11 per cent representation. This is well below the national average of 45.76 percent, as calculated from the Ministry’s Management Information System (MIS) portal.
By comparison, neighbouring Ladakh reports 88.89 per cent representation (8 out of 9 judges), while several states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Mizoram report representation levels exceeding 85 per cent.
The Centre clarified that the fixation of strength, recruitment and appointment of judges in district and subordinate courts is constitutionally vested with State governments in consultation with their respective High Courts, under Articles 233, 234 and the proviso to Article 309.
The criteria for sanctioning judicial posts, including population benchmarks, workload and case pendency, are assessed at the State and High Court level. The Ministry did not specify a uniform year of population census used nationwide, indicating that such assessments vary by jurisdiction.
