SC reinstates 3-year minimum practice requirement for law graduates’ entry into judicial services

Reversing this, a bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justices A G Masih and K Vinod Chandran said on Tuesday: “We hold that the three-year minimum practice requirement to appear for civil judges (junior division) exam is restored…”.

The judgment also said that “practical experience in court is essential for ensuring judicial efficiency and competence”.

The court directed state governments to amend rules to ensure that any candidate appearing for the civil judges (junior division) exam shall have a minimum practice of three years. It added that this will be certified and endorsed by a lawyer having standing of 10 years at the Bar. Experience as a law clerk to judges will also be counted in this regard, the bench said, adding that (judicial service entrants) must undergo a year of training before presiding in a court.

“For the last 20 years during which the recruitment of fresh law graduates have been appointed as judicial officers without a single day of practice at the Bar, has not been a successful experience. Such fresh law graduates have led to many problems,” the bench said.

Stressing the need for experience, the judgment said, “The judges, from the very day when they assume office, deal with the issues of life, liberty, property, and reputation of litigants. Neither knowledge based on law books nor pre-service training could be an adequate substitute to the first-hand experience of the working of the court system and administration of justice.”

It added that this is possible when the candidate is exposed to the working of the court and understands how lawyers and judges function in the court. “The candidates should be equipped to understand the intricacies of a judge and therefore, we are in agreement with most of the high courts that the requirement of the introduction of certain number of years of practice is necessary,” the bench said.

The Supreme Court said the requirement for minimum practice will not apply where high courts have already commenced the appointment process of civil judges (junior division).