The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that its recent ruling mandating a minimum of three years of legal practice to appear in entry-level judicial service examinations will apply prospectively, and will not affect recruitment processes already initiated prior to the judgment.
A bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, along with Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N.V. Anjaria, reiterated that the May 20 judgment—which barred fresh law graduates from participating in judicial service exams—will only be enforced in future recruitment cycles.
The clarification came during the hearing of a petition filed by advocate Naveed Bukhtiya and five others challenging a May 14 notification issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission. The petitioners, all practicing lawyers, argued that the notification did not reflect the newly imposed three-year practice rule and sought its invalidation.
During the hearing, the CJI questioned whether the timing of the recruitment notification was intentional, asking, “Was the full court of the High Court aware that the CJI is likely to pronounce the judgment on May 20?”
However, the bench ultimately maintained its earlier position, stating, “We have clarified in the judgment that this will not be applicable to any process which has already started and will be applicable only for the next recruitment year.”
Following this clarification, the petition was dismissed as withdrawn.
