New Delhi: The Supreme Court has upheld the requirement of prior legal practice for entry into judicial service while providing transitional relief to candidates affected by the restoration of the three-year practice rule.
In Bhumika Trust v. Union of India and Connected Cases, the court allowed candidates applying under recruitment notifications issued between May 25, 2025, and March 31, 2027, to apply without prior legal practice. Such candidates will be deemed to have completed one year of practice and will not need to submit a practice certificate for that period.
Selected candidates will be appointed as Trainee Judicial Officers and undergo one year of training at a State Judicial Academy, followed by a one-year clerkship—six months under a Principal District Judge or Higher Judicial Service officer and six months under a sitting High Court judge. Regular appointment will follow satisfactory evaluation.
From April 1, 2027, candidates appearing for Civil Judge (Junior Division) examinations must have at least one year of active legal practice, supported by a practice certificate based on their participation in judicial proceedings.
Trainee Judicial Officers will receive 50 per cent of the gross remuneration payable to a Judicial Magistrate First Class during training.
The court said the transitional arrangement was necessary to prevent hardship to young lawyers and law graduates following the restoration of the practice requirement, while maintaining that professional experience has a reasonable connection with judicial service.
The bench comprised Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice August George Masih, with Justice K. Vinod Chandran dissenting.
