🔆 Key Takeaways: Social Composition in Judicial Appointments 📍 Social Composition in Judicial Appointments ✅ Of 17 appointees to the Madras High Court approved by the Supreme Court Collegium during the tenures of former Chief Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Sanjiv Khanna, 15 (88.2%) belonged to Backward Classes (BC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), Most Backward Classes (MBC), Scheduled Castes (SC), or Scheduled Tribes (ST) ✅ This is the highest share among 24 High Courts with available data 📍 Dominance of Southern High Courts in Inclusive Appointments ✅ Madras HC accounted for 33% of all OBC appointments and 25% of all SC appointments during this period ✅ Telangana HC had 85.7%, Karnataka HC 66.7% of appointees from non-general categories ✅ Andhra Pradesh HC recorded 27.3% share, above the national average of 24.4% ✅ Only Kerala HC had less than 20% appointments from non-general categories 📍 Comparative Trends Across India ✅ Northern and Central High Courts like Punjab, Haryana, Patna, Rajasthan had lower proportions from non-general categories ✅ Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan had below 17% share from non-general categories 📍 Appointments from Sitting/Retired Judges’ Families ✅ 14 of 221 approved appointments were relatives of sitting/retired judges—all from the general category ✅ No such appointments in Southern HCs ✅ Highest in Rajasthan (3), then Chhattisgarh, Allahabad, and Patna (2 each) 📍 Gender Representation in Judiciary ✅ Only 34 women out of 221 appointees ✅ Madras HC had highest number of women appointees (5), followed by Andhra Pradesh, Bombay, Delhi, Gujarat, Telangana (3 each) ✅ Among Madras women appointees: 1 BC, 1 MBC, 3 OBC ✅ Other High Courts with women from non-general categories: Telangana (1 BC, 2 OBC), Kerala (1 OBC), Andhra Pradesh (1 SC), Rajasthan (1 OBC), Guwahati and Manipur (1 ST each) 📍 Policy and Governance Implications ✅ Growing trend of judicial appointments from socially disadvantaged communities in southern states ✅ Significant variation across States suggests subtle influencing factors ✅ Possible role of Chief Ministers and State Intelligence Branch inputs in appointments ✅ Better upward social mobility of BCs in southern States may also contribute