NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday modified its earlier order regarding the eligibility criteria for Civil Judges in Delhi Judicial Service for promotion as District Judges through Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE).
A three-judge bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai, and Aniruddha Bose said the Civil Judges having seven years of qualifying service (five years as Civil Judge (Junior Division) and two years as Civil Judge (Senior Division)] or 10 years qualifying service as Civil Judge (Junior Division) will be eligible for promotion as District Judges strictly based on merit through LDCE.
Earlier, the eligibility for LDCE promotion was the requirement of five years of qualifying service as a Civil Judge (Senior Division) and 10 years total qualifying as a Civil Judge (Junior Division).
“We direct that henceforth only 10 per cent of the cadre strength of District Judges be filled up by Limited Departmental Competitive Examination with those candidates who have qualified service of seven years (five years as Civil Judge (Junior Division) and two years as Civil Judge (Senior Division) or 10 years qualifying service as Civil Judge (Junior Division),” the bench said.
The apex court said the very purpose for providing the channel of promotion through LDCE was to provide an incentive to the officers amongst the relatively junior officers to improve and to compete with each other so as to excel and get a quicker promotion.