8 MAY2025For the first time, the Supreme Court has come out with elaborate statistics on collegium recommendations to appoint judges to high courts and presented a clear-cut trend of diversification. According to the statistics, a very large percentage of the judges appointed in the last two and a half years belong to the traditional underprivileged sections, i.e., women, OBCs, minorities, SCs, and STs.Between November 9, 2022, and May 5, 2025, 192 judges were appointed in different high courts. Out of them, 16 percent belonged to OBCs, minorities 15.9 percent, women 17.5 percent, SCs 4 percent, STs 3.6 percent, MBCs 3.6 percent, and the remaining 32 percent were general category. The Court further released figures indicating that only 14 appointees (7.2 percent) were connected to serving or retired Supreme Court or High Court judges, defying the popular perception that judicial appointments overwhelmingly favor people with family connections in the judiciary.Under Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna from November 2024 to May 5, 2025, the collegium cleared 51 out of 103 candidates. This group consisted of 11 OBCs, 1 SC, 2 STs, 8 minorities, and 6 women, with only 2 having family connections to current or former judges.The Court also touched upon issues regarding the role of the executive in stalling judicial appointments. Of the 170 collegium recommendations between November 2022 and November 2024, only 17 are pending with the Centre. Of the recent 51 recommendations, 12 are pending approval. In four instances, the Centre has stalled decisions for over two years.In 2023, the Supreme Court criticized the government's selective manner of clearing names as unacceptable and warned that such delays give the wrong signal about the appointment process. The Court continues to monitor the progress of judicial appointments and transfers in high courts to maintain transparency and accountability. The transition in leadership is a significant milestone in GFL's vision and strategic growth. Gosree Finance Limited (GFL), a Kochi-based non-banking financial company registered with the Reserve Bank of India, has made Shalini Warrier its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Promoter, effective June 2. Warrier is an experienced banking professional and former Executive Director at Federal Bank.With over 25 years of experience at Standard Chartered Bank, Warrier has worked in senior management roles in many countries including India, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and the UAE. She is one of the leading women of Kerala to have reached leadership positions within the financial sector. A Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Warrier also contributes to Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Indian Women Network of CII.Commenting on her appointment, Vishu Ramachandran, GFL Chairman and Managing Director said, "Shalini Warrier's bank-wide experience in banking, experience in digital innovations, and experience in customer connect will be the key to our taking our strategic agenda forward. Her leadership complements our defining values of trust, empathy and empowerment." Gosree Finance operates through a network of branches in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. IN FOCUSSUPREME COURT REVEALS INCREASED DIVERSITY IN HIGH COURT JUDGE APPOINTMENTSSHALINI WARRIER APPOINTED CEO & CO-PROMOTER OF GOSREE FINANCE LIMITED· Kochi-based Gosree Finance Limited (GFL) appoints Shalini Warrier as CEO and Co-Promoter· Roman Warrier was a former Executive Director at Federal Bank· The change in leadership is an important milestone in GFL's vision and strategic development
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