Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Supreme Court on Tuesday said there would be no re-examination for civil judge recruitment and directed the MP high court to weed out or exclude all those candidates who cleared the preliminary examination held on January 14, 2024 but did not fulfill the eligibility criterion under the amended rules, to clear way for the mains.
The high court had approached the SC as candidates with three years’ regular practice as well as those without legal practice qualified the preliminary examination. The Madhya Pradesh high court ruling mandated three-year legal practice to be eligible for the civil judge’s post.
A bench of justices PS Narasimha and Atul S Chandurkar allowed the appeal filed by the Madhya Pradesh high court challenging the June 13, 2024 order passed by its division bench, directing it to weed out or exclude all those candidates who cleared the preliminary examination held on January 14, 2024, but did not fulfil the eligibility criterion under the amended rules.
The Madhya Pradesh Judicial Services Rules, 1994 were amended on June 23, 2023, to make three years’ of practice compulsory to be eligible to appear in the civil judge entry-level test in the state.
Advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, who appeared on behalf of the MP high court, informed the Free Press, “Both types of candidates (with three-year practice and fresh graduates) qualified the preliminary examination. The SC has told the MPHC not to go for re-examination. Now the MP HC will lower the cut off marks. A re-exam is ‘unconstitutional and impractical’ and would open a floodgate of litigation."
