The Supreme Court on Friday directed all High Courts to extend the last date for submission of applications for Civil Judge (Junior Division) posts up to April 30, 2026. Fresh advertisements to be issued by State/High Courts or State Public Service Commissions shall also carry the same deadline.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the order after being informed that the recruitment process in some states had already commenced. The bench will hear the review petitions next week.

Senior Advocate Pinky Anand requested the Court to keep in abeyance the practice requirement. The bench, however, refused. The CJI assured that the review petitions will be taken up next week and observed that the extension of the date will take care of the urgency aspect.

During the hearing, CJI Surya Kant observed that the 3-year mandate has been set by a judgment of the Supreme Court which should be respected. The only issue is evolving the modalities for implementing the rule.

“Ultimately, let’s be very clear. The practice condition will have to be there. There is the view taken by a bench and we should respect that bench. The only issue is the modalities of giving effect to that,” CJI Surya Kant said. “3 years [condition] should be there. But does that mean an advocate sitting idle in one court or the other and watching? Is that going to make them eligible? Or make them free legal aid counsel. That is a very good idea,” the CJI added.

“The point of the practice requirement is that you learn something,” CJI stated.

The CJI also commented that special relaxations for women and specially abled persons may not be practical.

At the outset, Senior Advocate Siddharth Bhatnagar, the amicus curiae, apprised the bench about the suggestions given by the High Courts and law universities. He informed that High Courts have broadly supported the practice requirement, with some suggesting certain relaxations for candidates with disabilities. Some law universities have opposed the practice requirement and many have suggested alternatives for persons with disabilities. Prof. Faizan Mustafa, through the CNLU, has supported doing away with the practice requirement and suggested increasing the training period for civil judges.

Senior Advocate Pinky Anand submitted that the practice requirement created several hardships and will increase the age of candidates coming to the entry posts, since the exams are not regularly held on an annual basis. She also contended that the requirement put women at more hardship. She recommended that the Court stay the mandate while the modalities are re-assessed.

Justice Vinod Chandran commented that the call for removal of the practice requirement was being made at the instance of “coaching centres.” “This is about the coaching centres. I don’t mind saying this in open court. I have been a chief justice, I have been a senior judge in the court and I have gone through interviews. We are saying this from experience,” Justice Chandran said. He added that candidates joining judicial services should have a degree of maturity. “We want that slightly mature persons to come in judicial services.”

CJI Kant observed that many bright students were choosing corporate careers because of the three-year practice condition. He said the rule could have been introduced in a phased manner — beginning with a one-year requirement and gradually increasing to three years — instead of being applied uniformly at once.

“It should have been imposed in a phased manner, the first year it should have been one year, next then 2 years, then 3 years. That is the way court created law is made applicable in the past practices also. We have unfortunately thrusted upon directly. Because of that, there is a lot of hue and cry in all the top law schools. Students are not going to wait for 3 years to waste their time. They are the children who have competed through written exam. A competitive test, a test which is now more rigorous than the NEET or than the Medical and they have got admission as per their merit. Parents have spent a lot of money how they are not in a position to wait. That is the crisis we are facing. How to balance both plus women also,” he said.

The amicus submitted that there is a suggestion to relax the requirement for women and specially abled persons. “One suggestion is that some relaxation only for women and persons with disabilities. They may be permitted to complete the requirement either prior to or subsequent to clearing the exam,” the amicus said.

“That may not be practical,” CJI observed.

Another lawyer submitted that the condition has a long-term adverse impact on women professionals. She pointed out that while women may be able to manage at the entry level, being pushed back at a later stage in their careers can be particularly damaging because that period is crucial for professional growth.

Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves submitted that strengthening training mechanisms for judicial officers would be a better approach than insisting on years of practice at the Bar. He pointed out that there has been a significant expansion of judicial academies and structured judicial training programmes. According to him, the global trend is moving away from relying solely on prior practice and instead towards intensive institutional training for judges. Gonsalves suggested that, in the Indian context as well, greater emphasis should be placed on training judicial officers after they join service.

During the exchange, the Chief Justice remarked that one possible model could be to recruit talented candidates and retain them within the system while providing rigorous training.

The review petitions arise from the Supreme Court’s May 20, 2025 judgment which restored the requirement that candidates must have a minimum of three years’ practice as advocates to be eligible for recruitment to entry-level judicial service posts such as Civil Judge (Junior Division).

Case Title: Bhumika Trust v. Union of India and connected cases | W.P.(C) No. 001110/2025 and connected matters