Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) continues to face a significant shortage of judges in its high court, even as the Indian government reiterated in Parliament that there is no constitutional provision for caste-based reservation in appointments to the higher judiciary.

According to Kashmir Media Service, in a written reply to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian parliament, the Ministry of Law and Justice disclosed that the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir is functioning with 14 judges against a sanctioned strength of 25, leaving 11 vacancies. 

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.

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).

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)