President Droupadi Murmu advocates All India Judicial Service exam for Judges’ selection

Subject :Polity

Section: Judiciary

The AIJS is a reform push to centralise the recruitment of judges at the level of additional district judges and district judges for all states.
In the same way that the Union Public Service Commission conducts a central recruitment process and assigns successful candidates to cadres, judges of the lower judiciary are proposed to be recruited centrally and assigned to states.

How are district judges currently recruited?

Articles 233 and 234 of the Constitution of India deal with the appointment of district judges, and place it in the domain of the states.
The selection process is conducted by the State Public Service Commissions and the concerned High Court, since High Courts exercise jurisdiction over the subordinate judiciary in the state. Panels of High Court judges interview candidates after the exam and select them for appointment.
All judges of the lower judiciary up to the level of district judge are selected through the Provincial Civil Services (Judicial) exam. PCS(J) is commonly referred to as the judicial services exam.

Why has the AIJS been proposed?

The idea of a centralised judicial service was first mooted in the Law Commission’s 1958 ‘Report on Reforms on Judicial Administration’.
The idea was to ensure an efficient subordinate judiciary, to address structural issues such as varying pay and remuneration across states, to fill vacancies faster, and to ensure standard training across states.
The Constitution of India was amended by 42^nd amendment to provide for an All-India Judicial Services under Article 312.
The Chief Justices conferences in 1961, 1963, and 1965 favoured creation of All-India Judicial Services and even the Law Commissions (1st, 8th and 11th, 116th) had suggested the creation of the service.
The idea was proposed again in the Law Commission Report of 1978, which discussed delays and arrears of cases in the lower courts.
In 2006, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice in its 15th Report backed the idea of a pan-Indian judicial service, and also prepared a draft Bill.

What is the judiciary’s view on the AIJS?

In 1992, the Supreme Court in All India Judges’ Assn. (1) v. Union of India directed the Centre to set up an AIJS. In a 1993 review of the judgment, however, the court left the Centre at liberty to take the initiative on the issue.
In 2017, the Supreme Court took suomotu cognizance of the issue of appointment of district judges, and mooted a “Central Selection Mechanism”.