Be it Education, Health, Transport, or Home, in virtually all departments of state governments, the share of Muslims employed is way below their share in the population. That’s one of the key findings of the Prime Minister-appointed Justice Rajinder Sachar panel looking into the state of the Muslims in India, as first reported in The Indian Express today. But, arguably, in no other wing does this under-representation raise as many questions as in the state judiciary.

Data supplied by state governments themselves show that just as in all government jobs, there is a glaring gap between the share of Muslims in the population and their share in judicial jobs.

Ironically, in two states that have high Muslim population share, West Bengal (25.2%) and Assam (30.9%), the percentage of Muslim employees in key positions in the state judiciary is barely 5 and 9.4 respectively. This is in tune with West Bengal’s dismal overall Muslim employment data as well.

The “judiciary” for which the Sachar Committee asked for data includes officers at all levels, from Advocate Generals and District & Session Judges to Additional District & Session Judges, Chief Judicial Magistrates, Principal Judges, Munsifs, Public Prosecutors, and even Group A, B, C & D employees in lower courts.

These officers constitute the basic foundation of the justice-delivery system in the country. Public Prosecutors are lawyers representing the government, District and Sessions Judges hear both criminal and civil cases. The lower judiciary has a state-level examination and some get elevated to District Session Judges and Additional District Session Judges.

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