Supreme Court Cuts Judicial Service Practice Rule to One Year
The Supreme Court has reduced the mandatory legal practice requirement for candidates seeking entry into the judicial service as Civil Judges from three years to one year. The Court has also introduced compulsory post-selection training and clerkship requirements aimed at providing practical judicial experience before candidates receive regular appointments.
Supreme Court Cuts Judicial Service Practice Rule
Under the revised framework, candidates applying for Civil Judge (Junior Division) examinations notified on or after April 1, 2027 will need at least one year of active legal practice.
The earlier May 2025 judgment had mandated three years of practice before candidates could enter the judicial service.
The Supreme Court retained the principle that prospective judges should gain practical legal exposure but concluded that the three-year requirement could create unnecessary hardship for young law graduates.
One-Year Judicial Training Made Mandatory
Successful candidates will initially be designated as Trainee Judicial Officers and undergo one year of intensive training at the concerned State Judicial Academy.
They must then complete a further one-year structured clerkship. The first six months will be spent under a Principal District Judge or Higher Judicial Service officer, followed by six months under a sitting High Court judge.
Regular appointment will follow a satisfactory evaluation of the trainee’s performance.
Practice Rule Waived Until March 2027
The Supreme Court has created a transition period for recruitment notifications issued between May 20, 2025 and March 31, 2027.
Candidates applying during this period will not require prior legal practice and will be deemed to have satisfied the one-year practice condition. They must, however, complete the prescribed judicial training and clerkship after selection.
