Supreme Court reduces legal practice requirement for judicial exams

The Supreme Court of India has modified its previous verdict regarding entry-level judicial service examinations. In a 2:1 split decision, the Court reduced the mandatory legal practice requirement for candidates applying for Civil Judge (Junior Division) positions from three years to one year.

This transitional arrangement applies to all recruitment notifications and advertisements issued between May 25, 2025, and March 31, 2027. Under this ruling, all law graduates are eligible to apply regardless of prior experience. For the purposes of these applications, candidates will be deemed to have completed one year of active practice without needing to furnish a separate certificate for that period.

Selected candidates will initially be appointed as Trainee Judicial Officers. They must undergo one year of intensive training at a State Judicial Academy, followed by a one-year structured law clerkship. This clerkship consists of six months under the supervision of a Principal District Judge, District and Sessions Judge, or a member of the Higher Judicial Service, and an additional six months under a sitting judge of the concerned High Court.