Supreme Court cuts mandatory practice for civil judge aspirants to 1 year

The Supreme Court on Friday modified its May 2025 verdict that required three years of legal practice for candidates appearing for Civil Judge (Junior Division) exams. A 2:1 majority bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Augustine George Masih reduced the requirement to one year, with additional training and clerkship. Justice K Vinod Chandran dissented, warning the change would create "careerists" not "jurists."

Under the new framework, from April 1, 2027, candidates need one year of verified active practice. Selected candidates will undergo one year of intensive training at the State Judicial Academy, followed by six months of clerkship under a District Judge and six months under a High Court judge. For notifications issued between May 25, 2025, and March 31, 2027, all law graduates are deemed to have completed one year of practice and may apply without a certificate. Justice Chandran argued that experience at the Bar is essential for understanding litigants' travails and that the training period, on half pay, would burden recruits and the exchequer.