Supreme Court: 3-Year Legal Practice Not Mandatory for MP Civil Judge Recruitment

On September 23, the Supreme Court of India overturned a decision by the Madhya Pradesh High Court which had made 3 years of legal practice mandatory for Civil Judge recruitment. The bench, comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar, accepted the appeal challenging the High Court's verdict.

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court declared that re-examination due to the 3-year rule is unconstitutional.
• Previously, the MP Judicial Service Rules, 1994, were amended on June 23, 2023, to require 3 years of practice for eligibility.
• After the amendment, some unsuccessful candidates challenged the cutoff and eligibility criteria, leading to legal battles.
• The High Court had earlier upheld the new rules and excluded prelims-qualified candidates who did not meet them.
• The Supreme Court stayed that decision and has now completely nullified it.

Background:

Initially, the MP High Court halted the Civil Judge selection process, stating that candidates without 3 years of mandatory legal practice should be excluded. This led to multiple litigations and delays in recruitment. The Supreme Court, while hearing the MP High Court’s appeal against a June 13, 2024 decision, found the re-exam and practice requirement to be impractical and against constitutional principles.

What’s Next?

The recruitment process will proceed without the requirement of 3 years of legal practice. However, it is now expected that the State Services Mains Examination 2025 will be delayed and clarity on new dates may come next month.