‘No State Achieve All Three Quotas For SC, ST And OBC In Judiciary’: India Justice Report 2022

According to the 2022 India Justice Report (IJR), no state has been able to meet all three quotas for SC, ST, and OBC positions in the judiciary at the subordinate/district court level.

The IJR report further added that only 13 per cent of subordinate court judges are women.

The report however mentioned that Karnataka remains the only state to consistently meet its quota for SC, ST and OBC positions, both among police officers and the constabulary.

It is worth noting that Tamil Nadu came in second place, while Telangana coming in third. The lowest is ranked 18^th which is secured by state of Uttar Pradesh.

However, it was noted that no state met all three quotas in the judiciary at the Subordinate/District Court level.

“Only Gujarat and Chhattisgarh met their respective SC quotas. Arunachal Pradesh, Telangana, and Uttarakhand met their respective ST quotas. Kerala, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana met OBC quotas,” the report stated.

The India Justice Report (IJR), which claims to be India’s only ranking of states on the delivery of justice in the country, was launched in 2019 by Tata Trusts and is now in its third edition. The Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, DAKSH, TISS-Prayas, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, and How India Lives, IJR’s data partner, are among its partners.

According to the report, one out of every ten women work in the justice system, including police, prisons, the judiciary, and legal aid.

“While the overall share of women in the Police force is about 11.75 per cent, in the officer ranks it is still lower at 8 per cent. Only 13 per cent of High Court judges and 35 per cent of Subordinate Court judges are women. Among Prison staff, they are 13%. A majority of states have increased the share of women panel lawyers. Nationally, the share has increased from 18 to 25 per cent,” the report claimed.

In reference to infrastructure, the report stated, “One in every four police stations lacks a single CCTV camera. Almost three out of every ten police stations lack women help desks.”

It further pointed out, “About 30 per cent (391 prisons) record occupancy rates of above 150 per cent, and 54 per cent (709 prisons) run above 100 per cent capacity. Under-trials: With the exception of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura, and Madhya Pradesh, the undertrial population of all states and Union Territories exceeds 60 percent.”

Concerning the budget for the judiciary and legal aid, the report stated that the national per capita spend on the judiciary is Rs. 146, and no state spends more than 1% of its total annual expenditure on the judiciary.

“The national per capita expenditure on legal aid, including expenditure by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and state/UT governments, is a pitiful Rs 4.57 per year. If NALSA is excluded, this figure falls to Rs 3.8; if only NALSA’s budget (2021-22) is considered, the per capita spend is Rs 1.06 only,” the IJR report stated.