Do elite, male, upper caste dominate Indian judiciary? Former CJI DY Chandrachud addresses the claim

So far as the higher judiciary is concerned, it is reflective of the status of the legal profession about 20 years ago, he said (Image: BBC)

Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud rejected the notion that the Indian judiciary is influenced by dynastic control or is predominantly composed of elite, male, Hindu upper-caste individuals.

In an interview with BBC India, Chandrachud said, “If you look at the lowest levels of recruitment to the Indian judiciary, the district judiciary, which is the base of the pyramid, over 50 per cent of the new recruits coming into our states are women. There are states where the recruitment of women goes up to 60 or 70 per cent.”

So far as the higher judiciary is concerned, it is reflective of the status of the legal profession about 20 years ago, he said.

“What's happening now is that as the reach of education, particularly legal education, has reached women, that gender balance which you find in law schools is now reflected in the lowest levels of the Indian judiciary. In so far as gender balance in concerned, you find an increasing number of women coming into district judiciary and these are the women who will be climbing up,” he stated during the interaction.

Responding to a question about being the son of a Chief Justice, he recalled that his father, former Chief Justice of India YV Chandrachud, had advised him to stay away from court while he held the position.

“That's why I spent three years at Harvard Law School doing my studies. I entered a court for the first time after he retired. If you look at the overall profile of the Indian judiciary, most lawyers and judges are first-time entrants into the legal profession. So quite contrary to what you said, it is not that our judiciary is either upper caste or... in the higher echelons of judiciary, the movement of women to more responsible positions is just about taking place,” he said.

Chandrachud retired as CJI last year in November and was succeeded by Sanjiv Khanna, who was at that time the most senior judge in the Supreme Court.

Khanna was sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.