Govt finalising draft bill to set up all-India judicial service

Representational Image. (Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: The government is in the process of finalising a bill to establish an all-India judicial service to recruit officers for subordinate courts through an entrance test.
Those who clear the pan-India test would be appointed by high courts and the state governments.
Before the draft is taken to the Union Cabinet, the broad features of the proposed all-India service will be shared with the higher judiciary to seek its views, sources in the government said.
The provision of an all-India judicial service (AIJS) on the lines of the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service was mooted soon after Independence.
The provision of AIJS was included in Article 312 of the Constitution through the 42nd amendment in 1976. But it would still require a bill to decide on its broad contours.
At present, various high courts and state service commissions hold exams to recruit judicial officers.
With most of the 25 high courts wanting to retain administrative control over the lower judiciary, the proposed law may allow them to appoint judges of subordinate courts.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) could hold a standardised entrance test to recruit judges for lower courts.
Since cases in lower courts are argued in local languages, there have been apprehensions on as to how a person from north India can hold hearings in a southern state.
But the government is of the view that even IAS and IPS officers have served in different states overcoming the language barrier.
"Intensive language training can certainly help overcome the difficulty," said a senior law ministry functionary.
The government believes that if such a service comes up, it would help createRead More – Source

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