REINSTATEMENT OF MINIMUM PRACTICE REQUIREMENT FOR APPOINTMENT IN JUNIOR DIVISION JUDICIARY

ALL INDIA JUDGES ASSOCIATION & OTHERS V. UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS:

WRIT PETITION (C) NO. 1022 OF 1989

Hon’ble Bench: CJI B.R. Gavai, Justice A.G. Masih, and Justice K. Vinod Chandran

Date: 20 May 2025

The Hon’ble Supreme Court put an end to the minimum practice requirement in All India Judges Association & Ors. (2002) case and allowed the fresh graduates to apply for Munsiff-Magistrate posts. However, many applications were filed seeking reinstatement of the minimum practice requirement. It was observed by the Hon’ble Court that the recruitment of fresh law graduates as judicial officers without minimum practice has led to many problems, and pre-service training could not be an adequate substitute for the first-hand experience of the court system and administration of justice. The candidates should be equipped to understand the intricacies of a judge, and therefore, a minimum practice requirement of three years needs to be restored.