The Supreme Court on Friday (August 21, 2026) modified its May 2025 verdict by reducing to one year the earlier mandatory requirement of three years of legal practice for law graduates for taking entry level judicial service examinations.
The top court held that the sudden restoration of the three-year practice rule without any transitional arrangement has created hardship for young lawyers and law graduates and hence, a limited intervention was warranted. On May 20 last year, the top court had barred fresh law graduates from appearing in the entry-level judicial services examination, fixing a minimum three-year law practice criterion. The top court pronounced the verdict on a batch of review petitions challenging its May 2025 judgment, which mandated three years of legal practice for candidates seeking entry into the judicial service through direct recruitment as Civil Judges (Junior Division). The top court had on July 28 reserved its decision on a batch of review petitions and writ petitions filed in the matter. On March 13, the top court asked all the High Courts to extend the last date for submission of applications for civil judge (junior division) posts to April 30.
It said such candidates, upon selection, will be appointed only as trainee judicial officers for one year, and they would have to undergo a further period of one year structured clerkship.
