Punjab, Himachal, six other states oppose All India Judicial Service

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 12

Thirteen high courts and eight states, including Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, have opposed the idea of having All India Judicial Service (AIJS) even as Haryana and Mizoram supported it.

“In view of the existing divergence of opinion amongst the stakeholders, the Government is engaged in a consultative process with the stakeholders to arrive at a common ground,” Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has told the Lok Sabha.

However, the Government maintained that a properly framed AIJS was important to strengthen overall justice delivery system as it will give an opportunity for induction of suitably qualified fresh legal talent selected through a proper all-India merit selection system as well as address the issue of social inclusion by enabling suitable representation to marginalised and deprived sections of society.

According to a written reply given by the Law Minister on Friday, Haryana and Mizoram were the only states in favour of AIJS. “The proposal seems to be justified,” maintained Haryana.

Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were not in favour of AIJS while five states—Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Orissa and Uttarakhand wanted certain changes in the proposal.

The Punjab Government said, “The State Government does not favour creation of AIJS.” Similarly, the Government of Himachal Pradesh maintained, “Keeping in view the ground realities, it will not be appropriate to have All India Judicial Service. As such, the State of Himachal Pradesh is not in favour of the creation of an All India Judicial Service.”

The Madhya Pradesh Government said, “The State Government had earlier forwarded the comments of MP High Court. The High Court is not in favour of the formation of the All India Judicial Service.”

Arunachal Pradesh said the proposal may not suit a tribal state, while Maharashtra favoured such recruitment only at the Judicial Magistrate First Class Level.

Thirteen states—Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Telangana, Goa, Sikkim and Tripura were yet to spell out their respective stand on the issue.

Among the high courts, only the high courts of Sikkim and Tripura were in favour of creation of AIJS. Thirteen High Courts, including those of Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta and Madras, were against it while six other high courts wanted changes in the proposal. Two other HCs were yet to respond. The Patna High Court said judicial services can’t be compared to civil services, while the high courts of Punjab & Haryana and Calcutta said the AIJS would be against federalism.