Thousands of lawyers apply for each examination that is notified for recruitment to the district and subordinate judiciary. The various High Courts conduct the recruitment exercise without sufficient staff strength and some have described it as an ‘ad hoc’ measure because there have been issues with it. The idea of an All India Judicial Service has been mooted since 1946. It has been discussed by the Law Commissions of India, which have favoured its creation. Recently, majority of High Courts said they want to retain control over recruitment. The idea has also been pressed by the All India Judges Association in two petitions to the Supreme Court, which wasn’t opposed to it in its first verdict in 1992 (the second is yet to come). Jurist, senior advocate and former attorney general of India Soli J Sorabjee, in an interview with Ushinor Majumdar, agrees that an All India Judicial Services, with a few tweaks, can be planned and executed to tackle the problem. He seconds an idea to have an entrance examination to recruit qualified lawyers as public prosecutors.
In many cases, the High Courts directly conduct the recruitment to the lower courts. The judges have to set questions, supervise correction. In charge of this is a single registrar, who has to manage with a few people. With thousands of aspirants, isn’t that too cumbersome a task for a High Court?
Yes, but then who should do it? It may be cumbersome, but a High Court knows best who should be promoted, elevated. It should not be done by any executive body. A High Court can consult it but the decisions must be with the High Courts. There is no alternative to it.
There is a suggestion for an independent agency to execute the recruitment, conduct an all-India exam and create an all-India judicial service.
This story is from the November 20, 2017 edition of Outlook.
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This story is from the November 20, 2017 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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