Judicial officers with 7-year lawyer experience eligible for ADJ posts: SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that judicial officers with seven years’ experience as advocates prior to joining the bench are eligible for appointment as district judges under the Bar quota.

A five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice BR Gavai and comprising Justices M M Sundresh, Aravind Kumar, S C Sharma and K Vinod Chandran, delivered two separate but concurring judgments on over 30 petitions.

The verdict states, “The experience gained by judicial officers while serving as judges is far greater than that acquired solely as an advocate. Moreover, officers undergo rigorous training of at least one year.”

The verdict, which redefined the eligibility criteria for appointment as district judges, also held that eligibility must be assessed at the time of application.

"Judicial officers who have already completed seven years at the Bar before being recruited into the subordinate judicial service shall be entitled to appointment as a District Judge or Additional District Judge (DJ/ADJ) in the selection process for direct recruitment," said Chief Justice BR Gavai, who authored a 119-page judgment.

“Although Article 233(2) does not prescribe eligibility for a person already in judicial service of the Union or the State to be appointed as a District Judge, in order to ensure a level playing field, we direct that an in-service candidate must have a combined experience of seven years as a judicial officer and as an advocate," the verdict added. Justice Sundresh delivered a concurring opinion, endorsing the CJI's reasoning while elaborating on the principle of constitutional silence.