Milestone SC judgment to spur distt judiciary reform

In a judgment that could fundamentally alter the landscape of district judiciary recruitment across the country, a constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday held that serving judicial officers who have previously practised as advocates for seven years are eligible to apply for district judge posts under the quota reserved for the Bar, declaring that their exclusion would be “discriminatory” and detrimental to the quality of judicial service.

- Utkarsh Anand

The court further held that to ensure a level playing field, serving judges can also apply under the Bar quota if they have at least seven years of combined experience as a judicial officer and an advocate.

A five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai, and comprising justices MM Sundresh, Aravind Kumar, Satish Chandra Sharma and K Vinod Chandran, unanimously ruled that interpreting Article 233(2) to bar serving judges from competing for direct recruitment would undermine both efficiency and fairness in the judiciary.

Deciding a batch of petitions that highlighted conflicting interpretations by various high courts and the Supreme Court's own earlier rulings, the bench underlined that the ruling is meant to promote excellence rather than procedural rigidity: “In order to promote efficiency in the cadre of district judges, young talented meritorious judicial officers should not be denied an opportunity.”

The judgment, delivered through separate but concurring opinions by CJI Gavai and Justice Sundresh, will operate prospectively from the date of pronouncement.