Just 14 of 221 collegium picks related to judges: Supreme Court data

Only 14 of the total 221 names recommended for judgeship by the Supreme Court collegium between November 9, 2022, and May 5, 2025, are related to sitting and former judges of SC or High Courts, data released by the top court shows.

In a first, the Supreme Court on Monday night made public the whole process of judges' appointment and details of their assets, saying the step is being taken for "knowledge and awareness of the public."

Out of the total 221 recommendations made during the above-mentioned period, 29 are still awaiting government approval, including one relative of a sitting or former judge, data showed.

Advocate Rohit Kapoor-whose name was recommended by the collegium for elevation to High Court judgeship on January 4, 2024, but is still to get government nod-is son-in-law of Justice (retd) Amar Dutt Sharma of Punjab and Haryana High Court. Kapoor is a practising lawyer at the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Those who have already been appointed as judges include the wife of a sitting Rajasthan High Court judge and sons of eight former High Court judges. A judge of Rajasthan High Court, who was elevated from subordinate judiciary in January 2023, is related to two Rajasthan High Court judges (both his brothers-in-law).

"The person recommended for appointment is treated to be related to a sitting/retired judge of a High Court and/or the Supreme Court, if such judge is/was his/her (i) father, (ii) mother, (iii) father-in-law, (iv) mother-in-law, (v) sister, (vi) brother, (vii) sister-in-law, or (viii) brother-in-law," the top court said.

According to the data released, collegiums of different High Courts recommended 303 candidates for elevation to the Supreme Court collegium from November 9, 2022 to November 10, 2024, during the tenure of the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud.

The collegium headed by Chandrachud cleared 170 (56%) of these names. Twelve of these candidates were related to former or sitting judges.

The collegium headed by CJI Sanjiv Khanna has so far approved 51 of the 103 recommendations it received from several High Courts since November 11, 2024. Two of the names cleared for elevation are related to the former or sitting judges.