Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has written a letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai and to the union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, urging for the necessity for the institution of a transparent, equitable, and merit-based framework for judicial appointments. The letter penned by SCBA President and Senior Advocate Vikas Singh has also highlighted that the present Collegium system of judicial appointment faces structural flaws as it ignores talented lawyers in the Supreme Court Bar for elevation to High Courts. Further, the letter flags a troubling underrepresentation of women in the higher judiciary. “As of February 2024, women constituted merely 9.5% of the sanctioned strength in High Courts and a stark 2.94% in the Supreme Court”, the letter reads. The letter thus demands an urgent correction in the current framework by bringing a fresh Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) that shall have a Permanent and Independent Secretariat, objective criteria for selection and an accountability mechanism.