Supreme Court restores rule mandating 3-year law practice for judicial service
The court cited the experience of high courts over 20 years since the 2002 order and added that the recruitment of just law graduates has not been successful.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday restored the condition requiring candidates applying for civil judge recruitment to have a minimum of three years of law practice, saying there is no substitute for first-hand experience of courts and administration of justice. In 2002, the court ended the three-year condition to attract the best talent.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai and justices AG Masih and K Vinod Chandran cited the experience of high courts over 20 years since the 2002 order and added that the recruitment of just law graduates has not been successful. “It has led to many problems.”
The bench analysed the feedback from high courts, which showed that fresh law graduates recruited as judges did not know the courts and the litigation process. “If opportunity is given to lawyers acquainted with litigation, it will bring sensitivity to human problems and experience at the bar,” the bench said.
The order was passed after seeking responses from states and high courts. All-India Judges Association moved the court, asking whether the three years of minimum law practice for entering judicial service should be restored.
The bench said only a practicing lawyer can understand the intricacies of litigation and the administration of justice. It directed the states and high courts to amend the recruitment process within three months.
The court had kept in abeyance the recruitment process in some states during the pendency of Tuesday’s judgment. It said the recruitment shall be as per the rules applicable on the date of advertisement for the recruitment.
The bench clarified that Tuesday’s judgment will not apply to states where the recruitment of civil judges (junior division) has begun or the notification has been issued. “It will be applicable from the next recruitment process,” the court said.
The court said that a lawyer’s experience will be counted from the date they get provisional registration. The formal registration follows the clearing of the All India Bar examination.
Candidates applying for judicial services would have to submit an experience certificate of a lawyer with at least 10 years standing at the Bar. A principal judicial officer has to endorse the certificate. Those practicing at the high courts and the Supreme Court will have to produce judge-endorsed certificates from lawyers.
In 2002, the Supreme Court emphasised promoting young talent in judicial service and removed the three-year practice criteria. It noted that the judicial service was not attractive enough for a bright young law graduate after three years of practice.
The Shetty Commission, formed in 1996 to examine service conditions and salary structures of judicial officers, called for doing away with the three-year law practice rule. The court accepted the recommendation. The Supreme Court formulated the rule in the 1993 All India Judges Association case.
