SRINAGAR: The Supreme Court on Friday reduced the mandatory legal practice requirement for law graduates seeking to appear in entry-level judicial service examinations from three years to one year, modifying its May 2025 ruling.
A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices A.G. Masih and K. Vinod Chandran delivered the decision by a 2:1 majority while dismissing a review petition.
The court clarified that candidates appearing for judicial service examinations notified between May 25, 2025, and March 31, 2027, would remain eligible irrespective of their prior legal experience.
However, candidates selected through these examinations will initially be appointed as trainee judicial officers. They will be required to undergo one year of training at a judicial academy, followed by another year of structured clerkship.
The Supreme Court had, in its May 20, 2025 judgment, barred fresh law graduates from appearing in entry-level judicial service examinations and prescribed a minimum of three years of legal practice as an eligibility requirement.
The latest ruling modifies that requirement, bringing the mandatory practice period down to one year.
