Muslim Judges In Supreme Court: After the retirement of two Muslim judges in the Supreme Court this year, now there are no judges from this community in the top court of the country. But is this the first time? In fact, this has happened in the past also when there is no judge from the country’s second largest community in the Supreme Court. This is the first time in 11 years and only the second case in almost three decades that there is no Muslim judge in the Supreme Court.
The last time a Muslim judge was appointed to the Supreme Court was in 2012. The judges to be appointed were Justice MY Iqbal and Justice Faqir Mohammad Ibrahim Kalifulla. Both the judges have retired this year. A total of 31 judges can be appointed to the Supreme Court, currently 28 judges are in service there.
Along with this, it is believed that due to the ongoing tussle between the Supreme Court and the government regarding the process of appointment of judges, the wait for the next Muslim judge may be a little longer.
What is the history of Muslim Judge and Chief Justice in the country?
At present, Bihar CJ Iqbal Ahmed Ansari and Himachal CJ Mansoor Ahmed Mir are the Muslim Chief Justices of two High Courts. Of the 196 retired and 28 sitting judges and Chief Justices who served in the Supreme Court, 7.5 percent have been Muslims. Of these, four, M Hidayatullah, M Hamidullah Baig, AM Ahmadi and Altamas Kabir became CJI. The first woman judge of the Supreme Court, Justice M Fathima Beevi was a Muslim.
There was no Muslim judge even from 2003 to 2005
Last time, there was no Muslim judge in the Supreme Court for about two and a half years from April 2003 to September 2005. After the retirement of Justice SSM Qadri on 4 April 2003, Justice Altamas Kabir was appointed as the new judge of the Supreme Court on 9 September 2005.
That is, during the four-month period from December 2012 to April 2013, there were four Muslim judges in the Supreme Court. This includes the names of CJI Altamas Kabir, Justice Aftab Alam, Justice Iqbal and Justice Kalifulla.
Also read:
