Discuss whether the Collegium system ensures diversity (regional, gender, social) in the Supreme Court, with reference to recent appointments.

The Collegium system grew out of the Second (1993) and Third (1998) Judges Cases. Under it, the CJI and the senior-most judges choose who joins the Supreme Court. The recent increase in the Court's strength to 37 judges plus the CJI [2], and the elevation of three judges on 6 October 2026 [1], show that the system delivers some diversity, but unevenly and with no fixed rules.

Where the Collegium does promote diversity

• Gender: Justice Sunita Agarwal, Chief Justice of the Gujarat HC, was among the three judges elevated [1]. This adds to the slow rise in the number of women on the Bench.
• Regional: Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh's parent court is the Jharkhand HC, a smaller High Court [1]. The Collegium does consider parent High Courts when choosing judges.
• Merit and seniority: All three appointees were serving HC Chief Justices [1]. This follows the convention of rewarding administrative experience.
• Social intent: Since 2018, people recommended as High Court judges must state their social background in a set format [3].

Where diversity falls short

• Regional skew: Two of the three new judges come from the Allahabad HC [1]. Representation stays uneven across the states.
• Social under-representation: Of the 715 HC judges appointed since 2018, only 22 were SC, 16 ST, 89 OBC and 37 from minorities [3]. That is under a quarter. Since High Courts supply most Supreme Court judges, this narrow base carries upward.
• No legal mandate: Articles 124, 217 and 224 provide no reservation in judicial appointments [3]. Diversity therefore depends on the choices of a few individuals.
• Opacity: The Collegium does not publish criteria for choosing judges. The Memorandum of Procedure is still unsettled, so there is little accountability for diversity.
• Pipeline effect: Choosing only from among HC Chief Justices draws on a narrow group. That group is mostly male and mostly from dominant social groups.

The Collegium has protected judicial independence and brought in some gender and regional diversity. It does not ensure social diversity because the process has no rules for it. The way forward is to finalise the Memorandum of Procedure with published diversity criteria, use the new seats from the 2026 expansion [2] to widen the base, and elevate more judges directly from the Bar. This would make the Bench reflect the constitutional ideals of equality (Article 14) and an inclusive judiciary.