In a major ruling on judicial service eligibility, the Supreme Court has held that the experience gained by candidates while working as Law Clerks with Judges or Judicial Officers should be considered in calculating the total number of years of legal practice required to appear for the Civil Judge (Junior Division) examination.
The judgment was delivered by a three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, Justice AG Masih, and Justice K Vinod Chandran, in the case titled All India Judges Association vs Union of India, Writ Petition (C) No. 1022 of 1989.
Key Legal Issue
One of the eight major issues framed by the Court was whether the earlier requirement of a minimum of three years’ practice at the Bar, which had been removed in earlier rulings, should be restored. Upon receiving responses from several High Courts and State Governments highlighting the lack of courtroom maturity among fresh law graduates, the Bench decided to reinstate the condition.
Alongside this decision, the Court addressed a crucial ancillary issue—whether time spent as a law clerk with judges should count toward this three-year requirement.
Supreme Court’s Ruling on Law Clerkship
While dealing with this issue in paragraph 89 of the judgment, the Court held:
“In our view, the experience of the candidates which they have gained while working as Law Clerks with any of the Judges or Judicial Officers in the country should also be considered while calculating their total number of years of practice.”
This clarification resolves a long-standing ambiguity in judicial service eligibility criteria. The inclusion of clerkship experience will especially benefit law graduates who opted for the judicial clerkship route instead of direct litigation practice.
Conditions and Observations
While allowing clerkship experience to count, the Court did not dilute the standard of practice required. It maintained that the core objective is to ensure that candidates entering the judiciary possess adequate exposure to the legal profession and courtroom functioning.
The judgment also emphasized the following:
- Only the period of clerkship with sitting or retired Judges/Judicial Officers should be counted.
- The candidate must still fulfill the requirement of being enrolled with the Bar Council and be registered as an advocate.
- If provisional enrolment is followed by completion of the All India Bar Examination (AIBE), the experience should be calculated from the date of such provisional enrolment, as long as the candidate subsequently clears the AIBE and obtains permanent enrolment.
The Bench directed all High Courts and State Governments to amend their service rules in accordance with the revised eligibility criteria, including the recognition of law clerk experience.
