Civil Judge Recruitment: Supreme Court Stays MP HC Order To Exclude Candidates Not Meeting 3-Year Practice Or 70% LLB Mark Criteria

 The Supreme Court yesterday stayed the 13 June order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court which halted the recruitment process and ordered the recomputation of cut-off marks for Civil Judge Junior Division (Entry Level) Recruitment exam 2023.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S.V.N. Bhatti was hearing an SLP filed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court challenging the judgment passed by the division bench of the High Court which ordered excluding all candidates who had successfully passed the Preliminary Examination because they did not fulfil the eligibility criteria under the Amended Recruitment Rules.

The Amended Recruitment Rules pertain to the  Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1994, which were amended on June 23, 2023. The key amendment related to the eligibility criteria for appearing in the Civil Judge Junior Division Examination. As per the amended Rule 7(g), candidates will be eligible for the examination if they possess an LLB degree in Law and either have continuous 3 years of practice as an advocate on the last date fixed for submission of the application or are outstanding law graduates with a brilliant academic career, having "passed all exams in the first attempt" and securing "at least 70 percent marks" in the aggregate for the general and OBC categories. 

Earlier, there was no requirement for 3 years of practical experience or any prescribed minimum aggregate score in LLB. For candidates from SC & ST categories, at least 50% marks in the aggregate is required.