Lok Sabha Question No. 193 (STARRED), answered on 2020-03-04
Subject: Indian Judicial Service
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Rajmohan Unnithan, Pinaki Misra

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE

## DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO. *193

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 04 th  MARCH, 2020

Indian Judicial Service

*193. SHRI RAJMOHAN UNNITHAN:

SHRI PINAKI MISRA:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any plan to set up Indian Judicial Service as an All India service to fill the vacancies in the Judiciary and give the representation to marginalized sections of the society; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) to (b): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  and  (b)  of  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *193 FOR ANSWER ON 04 th  MARCH, 2020.

(a)  to  (b)  :  In  Government's  view,  a  properly  framed  All  India  Judicial  Service  is important to strengthen overall justice delivery system. This will give an opportunity for induction of suitably qualified fresh legal talent selected through a proper all-India merit selection system as well as address the issue of social inclusion by enabling suitable representation to marginalized and deprived sections of society.

A  comprehensive  proposal  was  formulated  for  the  constitution  of  an  All  India Judicial Service (AIJS) and the same was approved by the Committee of Secretaries in November, 2012.  Besides attracting some of the best talent in the country, it may also facilitate inclusion of competent persons from marginalized sections and women in the judiciary.  The  proposal  was  included  as  an  agenda  item  in  the  Conference  of  Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the High Courts held in April, 2013 and it was decided that  the  issue  needs  further  deliberation  and  consideration.    The  views  of  the  State Governments and High Courts were sought on the proposal.  There was divergence of opinion among the State Governments and among the High Courts on the constitution of All India Judicial Service.  While some State Governments and High Courts favoured the  proposal,  some  were  not  in  favour  of  creation  of  All  India  Judicial  Service  while some others  wanted changes in the proposal formulated by the Central Government.

The  High  Courts  of  Sikkim  and  Tripura  have  concurred  with  the  proposal approved by Committee of Secretaries for formation of All India Judicial Service. The High Courts of Allahabad, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Orissa and Uttarakhand have suggested changes in age at induction level, qualifications,  training  and  quota  of  vacancies  to  be  filled  through  All  India  Judicial Service.  Rests of the High Courts have not favoured the idea. Most of the High Courts want  the  administrative  control  over  the  Subordinate  Judiciary  to  remain  with  the respective High Courts.  The High Courts of Jharkhand and Rajasthan have indicated that  the  matter  regarding  creation  of  AIJS  is  under  consideration.    No  response  has been received from the High Courts of Calcutta, Jammu & Kashmir and Gauhati.

The State Governments of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya  Pradesh,  Meghalaya,  Nagaland  and  Punjab  do  not  favour  the  formation  of AIJS.    The  State  Government  of  Maharashtra  wants  the  recruitment  to  be  done  at Judicial  Magistrate  First  Class  (JMFC)  level  which  is  not  in  consonance  with  the provisions  of  AIJS  included  in  the  Constitution  of  India.    The  State  Governments  of Bihar,  Chhattisgarh,  Manipur,  Orissa  and  Uttarakhand  want  changes  in  the  proposal formulated by the Central Government.  The State Government of Haryana has stated that the proposal seems to be justified.  The State Government of Mizoram supported creation of AIJS on the lines of IAS, IPS and other Central Services.  The then State of Jammu and Kashmir has mentioned that provisions of Constitution of India for formation of  AIJS  incorporated  in  the  Constitution  by  42 nd Amendment  Act,  1976  are  not applicable to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.  No response has yet been received from rest of the States.

The  matter  regarding  creation  of  a  Judicial  Service  Commission  to  help  the recruitment  to  the  post  of  district  judges  and  review  of  selection  process  of  judges  / judicial  officers  at  all  level  was  also  included  in  the  agenda  for  the  Chief  Justices Conference, which was held on 03 rd and 04 th April,  2015,  wherein  it was resolved to leave  it  open  to  the  respective  High  Courts  to  evolve  appropriate  methods  within  the existing system to fill up the vacancies for appointment of District judges expeditiously. The  proposal  for  constitution  of  All  India  Judicial  Service  with  views  from  the  High Courts  and  State  Governments  received  thereon  was  included  in  the  agenda  for  the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the High Courts held on 05 th April, 2015.  However, no progress was made on the subject.

The proposal of setting up of an All India Judicial service was again discussed on points of eligibility, age, selection criteria, qualification, reservations etc  in a meeting chaired by  Minister of Law and Justice on 16 th January 2017 in the presence of Minister of  State  for  Law  and  Justice,  Attorney  General  of  India,  Solicitor  General  of  India, Secretaries of Department of Justice, Legal affairs and Legislative Department. In view of  the  existing  divergence  of  opinion  amongst  the  stakeholders  the  Government  is engaged in a consultative process with the stakeholders to arrive at a common ground.

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