In a major decision on eligibility criteria for judicial appointments, the Supreme Court on Thursday held that a judicial officer who has seven years of experience as a lawyer before joining the judicial service is entitled to be appointed as a District Judge under the Bar quota.
The Constitution Bench delivered its judgment in Rejanish KV v. K Deepa & Ors.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justices M.M. Sundresh, Aravind Kumar, Satish Chandra Sharma, and K. Vinod Chandran clarified that such officers can be considered for appointment through direct recruitment, effectively departing from the restrictive interpretation adopted in earlier judgments.
Background
The case involved the interpretation of Article 233(2) of the Constitution, which states that a person not already in the service of the Union or a State may be appointed as a District Judge if they have been an advocate or pleader for at least seven years and are recommended by the High Court.
Earlier High Court rules and a 2020 judgment in Dheeraj Mor v. High Court of Delhi had debarred judicial officers from applying under the Bar quota, even if they had seven years of prior Bar experience. This led to multiple writ petitions, special leave petitions, and review petitions seeking a declaration that such officers are indeed eligible.
On August 12, a three-judge bench referred the issue to a Constitution Bench while hearing a review plea against the Dheeraj Mor decision.
Issues Considered
The Bench considered four key questions:
- Whether a judicial officer who had already completed seven years in the Bar before joining service would be entitled to appointment as Additional District Judge against the Bar quota.
- Whether eligibility should be determined at the time of application, appointment, or both.
- Whether Article 233(2) prescribes any eligibility for persons already in judicial service.
- Whether a person with seven years’ service as Civil Judge, or a combined experience of seven years at the Bar and the Bench, would be eligible for appointment as District Judge under Article 233.
Court’s Ruling
The Constitution Bench held that:
- Judicial officers with seven years of Bar experience prior to entering service are eligible to be appointed as District Judges under the Bar quota.
- Judicial officers with a combined experience of seven years as a lawyer and judge would also be eligible for direct recruitment.
- State governments, in consultation with their respective High Courts, must frame rules to enable such direct recruitment of in-service candidates and judicial officers to District Judge posts.
This ruling significantly widens the pool of eligible candidates for District Judge appointments, aligning the recruitment framework with the text and spirit of Article 233(2).
