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02/12/23 10:09 AM IST

President Murmu advocates for All India Judicial Service

In News
  • During her inaugural address at the Supreme Court’s Constitution Day celebration, President Droupadi Murmu called for an “all-India judicial service” to recruit judges, saying this will help make the judiciary diverse by increasing representation from marginalised social groups.
All India Judicial Services
  • Article 312 of the Constitution provides for the establishment of an All-India Judicial Service (AIJS), along the lines of the central civil services.
  • If the Rajya Sabha declares through a resolution, supported by at least two-thirds of its present and voting members, that it is necessary or expedient to create a service in “national interest,” the Parliament “may by law provide for the creation of one or more all India services (including an all India judicial service) common to the Union and the States” and regulate the recruitment and service conditions of persons appointed to any such service.
  • However, Article 312 (2) states that the AIJS cannot include any post inferior to that of a district judge, as defined in Article 236.
  • A district judge can include a city civil court judge, additional district judge, joint district judge, assistant district judge, chief judge of a small cause court, chief presidency magistrate, additional chief presidency magistrate, sessions judge, additional sessions judge, and assistant sessions judge
  • The AIJS seeks to centralise the recruitment of judges at the level of additional district judges and district judges for all states.
  • Just as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts a central recruitment process and assigns successful candidates to cadres, the recruitment of judges of the lower judiciary is being proposed to be made central, following which they’ll be assigned to states.
Present system of selection
  • Articles 233 and 234 of the Constitution of India deal with the appointment of district judges and place it in the domain of the states.
  • The selection process is conducted by the State Public Service Commissions and the concerned High Court, since HCs exercise jurisdiction over the subordinate judiciary in the state.
  • Panels of HC judges interview candidates after the exam and select them for appointment.
  • All judges of the lower judiciary up to the level of district judges are selected through the Provincial Civil Services (Judicial) exam. PCS (J) is commonly referred to as the judicial services exam.
Proposal of AJIS
  • The idea of a centralised judicial service was first deliberated in the Law Commission’s 1958 ‘Report on Reforms on Judicial Administration’.
  • It was to ensure an efficient subordinate judiciary to address structural issues such as varying pay and remuneration across states, filling vacancies faster, and ensuring standard training nationwide.
  • A statutory or constitutional body such as the UPSC to conduct a standard, centralised exam to recruit and train judges was discussed.
  • The idea was proposed again in the Law Commission Report of 1978, which discussed delays and arrears of cases in the lower courts.
  • In 2006, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law, and Justice, in its 15th Report, supported the idea of a pan-Indian judicial service and also prepared a draft bill.
Why the idea was not implemented?
  • The Centre took various steps towards the constitution of the AIJS, such as coming up with a “comprehensive proposal”, which was approved by the Committee of Secretaries in November 2012.
  • In April 2013, this proposal was included as an agenda item in the Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the High Court. However, it was agreed upon that the issue needs further deliberation. Subsequently, the views of state governments and HCs were sought on the proposal, but no consensus could be reached.
  • In January 2017, aspects of AISJ, like eligibility, age, selection criteria, qualification, and reservation, were discussed in a meeting chaired by the Minister of Law and Justice, with participation from India’s Attorney General, Solicitor General, and DoJ secretaries. However, the proposal failed to reach the stage of implementation.
  • Till now there is no consensus on the proposal for setting up an All India Judicial Service.
Source- Indian Express

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