NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday reduced the mandatory practice requirement for law graduates seeking entry-level judicial service examinations from three years to one year, while adding one year each of training and clerkship. A three-judge bench comprising CJI Surya Kant, Justice AG Masih and Justice K Vinod Chandran delivered a 2:1 split verdict while dismissing review petitions against the Court’s May 2025 judgment that had restored the three-year practice requirement.
The review petitions argued that the rule could discourage meritorious law graduates from joining the judiciary soon after graduation. The SC said the sudden restoration of the requirement, without transitional arrangements, had caused hardship to young lawyers and graduates.
CJI Surya Kant said candidates covered by judicial examination notifications issued between May 20, 2025 and March 31, 2027 would be eligible to apply regardless of their prior experience. Graduates during this period would be allowed to apply notwithstanding the three-year practice requirement, considering that more than one year had elapsed since the judgment under review was pronounced.
However, candidates selected through this arrangement would be appointed only as trainee judicial officers for one year. For the purposes of their applications, such candidates would be deemed to have completed one year of active practice and would not be required to produce a certificate of practice for that period.
The bench said judicial recruitment is an evolving process and the new arrangement should operate for three years before being assessed. It said this period will provide enough institutional experience to evaluate recruitment quality, trainee performance and supervised clerkship.