All India Judicial Service (AIJS)

Indian Polity Judiciary

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The Centre is contemplating creation of an All India Judicial Service (AIJS) on the pattern of the All India Civil Services. In its 15th report, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice has recommended its creation and directed the Law Ministry to take immediate steps for setting up such a service.

The proposal for having an AIJS is not new and was first suggested in the Chief Justices' Conference in 1961 as a way to remove any scope for judicial or executive intervention in the appointments to the judiciary in the High Courts and the Supreme Court in India. It also draws its support from the reports of the first, eighth and 11th law commissions. Even the Supreme Court is not averse to the idea. For, in two of its judgments in 1991 and 1993, it had recommended setting up of an all India judicial service. Article 312 of the Constitution also provides for a national level judicial service.

Rationale behind AIJS:

While most government departments have all India service recruits, selected after an all India competitive examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission every year, the judiciary is the only set-up that does not have an all India selection process. The direct recruitment of judges from the entry level will be handled by an independent and impartial agency through an open competition thereby ensuring fair selection of incumbents.
If promotion from AIJS selected subordinate judiciary becomes the only means to select judges of higher judiciary it can become a way to remove any scope for judicial or executive intervention in the appointments to the judiciary in the High Courts and the Supreme Court in India.
The measure of uniformity in the standards for selection will improve the quality of personnel in different High Courts, as one-third of the judges come there on promotion from the subordinate courts. Similarly, judges of the Supreme Court are drawn from the High Courts.
It would naturally help attract bright and capable young law graduates to the judiciary to take over as judges. Currently the subordinate judiciary depends entirely on state recruitment. But the brighter law students do not join the state judicial services because they are not attractive.
For subordinate judicial officers it would ensure equitable service conditions besides providing them a wider field to prove their mettle.
In addition, the objective of inducting an outside element in High Court benches can be achieved better and without any problem because a member of an all India judicial service will have no mental block about interstate transfers.

Challenges and Way Ahead:

One of the problems cited is that since several states, using their powers under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), have declared that the local language would be used in lower courts even for writing orders. A district judge coming from a different linguistic region will face the problem of language in assessing and tackling the critical legal and other issues of facts, which will affect the quality of justice.

Language may be a problem but that should not be an argument for straightaway rejecting the idea. Young recruits from outside can easily learn the local language and adapt themselves to local conditions unlike older people. (Even IAS and IPS officers have to undergo language training while serving in states different form their own state)

Some argue that setting up of such a service would entail administrative costs.

Finances involved in the formation of such a judicial service should not pose any problem. In fact, the amounts collected as court fees, at least, should be spent for this purpose instead of being utilised as a source of general revenue of the States. According to an agency report, figures from the Ministry of Law and Justice show that the income generated from court fees is more than the expenditure incurred on the administration of justice.

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vinkal gupta

It is a Very informative post. Aspirants of judicial services can also visit www.judicialminds.com for online test series of judicial services exams of different states and subjects.

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