SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh has issued detailed guidelines for the field training of Civil Judges (Junior Division), prescribing supervised court experience, case preparation, judicial drafting exercises and performance assessment to equip newly inducted judicial officers with the skills required to handle civil and criminal cases independently.
The guidelines, approved through Order No. 1707 of 2026/RG dated October 29, will govern the field training component of the induction programme. The High Court has also approved institutional training in accordance with the module prescribed by the Jammu and Kashmir Judicial Academy.
Under the framework, every trainee will be required to report to the judicial officer holding additional charge of the court where the trainee has been posted. The officer will serve as the trainee’s Mentor Judge and will be responsible for supervising, guiding and assessing the practical training.
Trainees must remain at their designated stations throughout the training period and cannot leave without prior permission from the competent authority.
The guidelines clarify that trainees will exercise the powers of a Judicial Magistrate First Class only to the extent specifically conferred by the High Court and subject to the conditions and limitations attached to such authorisation. They will exercise these powers as required, in accordance with the High Court’s directions and the lawful allocation of duties.
The framework also makes it clear that the placement of a trainee in a court will not transfer the court’s regular judicial or administrative responsibilities to the trainee. The judicial officer holding additional charge will continue to discharge the court’s regular judicial work and oversee its administration, including supervision of staff, maintenance of records and preparation and processing of salary bills for court employees and the trainee, as applicable.
During scheduled court sittings, trainees will participate in practical exercises under the direct supervision of their Mentor Judges. These will include observing court proceedings and the exercise of judicial discretion, recording or preparing witness statements where appropriate, drafting orders, analysing evidence and submissions by counsel, framing questions and studying the handling of interlocutory applications and procedural objections.
Mentor Judges have been directed to ensure that trainees receive meaningful exposure to actual proceedings and appropriate guidance on the legal and procedural issues arising during hearings.
On days when the judicial officer holding additional charge is not scheduled to preside over the concerned court, trainees will be required to prepare cases listed for the next sitting and undertake judicial drafting exercises.
For civil cases, trainees will examine pleadings, documents and other relevant material and prepare draft issues wherever required by the stage of proceedings. In criminal matters, they will study police reports, complaints, statements and documents, as applicable, and prepare draft charges when necessary.
The exercises will also include preparing draft orders in civil and criminal matters, identifying cases ready for final adjudication and drafting judgments after examining the relevant records, evidence, submissions and applicable law.
Trainees will additionally prepare draft final orders in civil applications and, in appropriate criminal cases, draft questions to be put to accused persons under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, or the corresponding provision under Section 351 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, as applicable.
The High Court has emphasised that these exercises must correspond to the actual procedural stage of each case. Trainees will be expected to examine case files sufficiently to understand the facts, procedural history, issues, evidence, applicable legal provisions and questions requiring determination.
All draft orders, issues, charges, questions and judgments must be submitted to the Mentor Judge for scrutiny and guidance. The Mentor Judge may discuss shortcomings with the trainee and require revisions wherever necessary.
The guidelines specifically state that drafts prepared during training will remain exercises for learning purposes and cannot be treated as court orders or judgments. They cannot be pronounced, issued or incorporated into the judicial record as judicial determinations merely because they were prepared during the training period.
Mentor Judges will continuously assess trainees’ case preparation and the quality of their draft judicial work. The assessment will cover their understanding of facts and procedural history, identification of issues requiring determination, application of statutory provisions and precedents, appreciation of evidence, correctness of the proposed procedural course, clarity of legal reasoning, punctuality and willingness to address deficiencies.
They must also maintain a discreet record of each trainee’s performance, progress, strengths and areas requiring improvement. These observations will be kept ready for submission to the Judicial Academy whenever required under the High Court’s or the Academy’s directions.
The framework separately mandates the assignment of a sufficient number of civil and criminal cases for preparing draft final judgments throughout the field training period. The cases should, as far as practicable, expose trainees to different categories of disputes, procedural stages and questions of law.
Each draft judgment must be prepared independently after examining the case record, identifying the points for determination, considering the applicable law and evidence, and setting out the reasoning necessary to reach a conclusion.
Mentor Judges will evaluate these drafts on the analysis of evidence, formulation and determination of issues, application of substantive and procedural law, consideration of relevant statutory provisions and binding precedents, consistency between findings and conclusions, clarity of language and compliance with legal requirements governing judgments.
Where deficiencies are identified, the Mentor Judge may discuss them with the trainee and require the draft to be revised or rewritten. Evaluated judgments, along with the Mentor Judge’s observations, will be kept ready for submission to the Judicial Academy as and when called for. The Academy may issue supplementary instructions regulating the number, nature and schedule of these assignments.
The guidelines place responsibility on the respective Principal District and Sessions Judges to facilitate implementation across their districts and ensure compliance with arrangements for court sittings, supervision and training.
Trainees must follow the Mentor Judge’s directions regarding training schedules, assigned cases and submission of draft judicial work. They are also required to maintain the confidentiality of judicial records and proceedings and observe the standards of conduct, discipline and professional responsibility applicable to judicial officers.
The Judicial Academy may seek reports, assessments, draft judgments and other training material through the concerned Principal District and Sessions Judges at any stage of the field training programme. Any difficulty in implementing the guidelines must be brought to the notice of the competent authority for appropriate directions.
The High Court has stated that the purpose of the field training component is to develop trainees’ practical competence, analytical ability, procedural understanding and judicial writing skills. The training is intended to familiarise them with the complete process of judicial decision-making in civil and criminal matters before they assume independent judicial responsibilities.
The guidelines will operate subject to applicable High Court orders and directions and instructions issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Judicial Academy from time to time.
