SC relaxes rule to apply for judicial service, one-year practice now enough
Successful applicants with a year’s legal practice would undergo one year of intensive training at the concerned State judicial academy, followed by a final year of law clerkship with senior judicial officers and High Court judges
The Supreme Court of India has relaxed the requirements for individuals seeking entry into the judicial service by reducing the mandatory legal practice period from three years to just one. In a 2:1 majority decision, Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice A.G. Masih stated that successful applicants with one year of legal practice would undergo a one-year intensive training program at the relevant state judicial academy.
Following this, they would complete a year of law clerkship under senior judicial officers and High Court judges. Candidates who had already applied for the position of Civil Judge (Junior Division) between May 2025 and August 2026 would be deemed to have completed the required one year of active legal practice and would not need to provide proof of their practice.
Those who passed the exams would be designated as trainee judicial officers and would undergo the mandatory training and clerkship. The new rule will be in effect until March 31, 2027, with the one-year legal practice requirement coming into full force from April 1, 2027. From that date, only candidates with proof of their practice will be eligible for appointment as Civil Judge (Junior Division).
The Supreme Court emphasized that the scheme will be reviewed after five years to determine its effectiveness.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
