Now, candidates who have passed law graduation immediately cannot appear in the judicial service exam, the Supreme Court has now laid down some conditions regarding this.

Now new candidates who have passed law graduation cannot appear in the judicial service exam. The Supreme Court said during a decision that to join the judicial service, the candidate must have experience as a lawyer. This decision was given by a bench of CJI BR Gavai, Justice AG Masih and Justice Vinod Chandran.

Supreme Court gave the decision

According to Bar and Bench, the Supreme Court said, the requirement of minimum practice of 3 years to appear in the Civil Judge (Junior Division) exam is restored. All state governments should amend the rules to ensure that the person appearing in the Civil Judge (Junior Division) exam has at least 3 years of practice of advocacy. This should be certified by a lawyer having 10 years of experience in the bar. Experience as a law clerk for judges will also be counted in this experience. They (candidates) will have to undergo one year of training before presiding in the court.

Will these rules apply to ongoing recruitments as well?

The court further clarified that these requirements will not apply to ongoing judicial recruitment, but will only be applicable prospectively. The court said that where the appointment process of Civil Judge (Junior Division) of the High Court has started, the requirement of minimum practice will not apply and it will be applicable only when the next recruitment process starts.

Why was this decision taken?

The court reasoned behind this decision that many problems arose with new law graduates as judges, inexperienced law graduates may not be adequately equipped to handle the important tasks assigned to judicial officers.

This is why the Supreme Court laid down the condition

The case came up after a batch of petitions were filed challenging the requirement of mandatory 3 years of legal practice for those aspiring to become civil judges, by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, by amending the Judicial Service Rules in 2002. This rule was later adopted by various states as well, requiring candidates to have at least 3 years of experience as a lawyer before appearing for the judicial service examination for entry-level civil judge (junior division) posts.