Lok Sabha Question No. 2089 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-10
Subject: Appointment of District Court Judges
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Vincent H Pala

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2089

## TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 10.12.2021

## Appointment of District Court Judges

## 2089. SHRI VINCENT H. PALA:

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

- (a) the  framework  proposed  for  the  appointment  ofDistrict  Court  judges under the proposed All India JudicialServices;
- (b) the manner in which the Governmentproposes to maintain the independence  of  judiciaryin terms of appointments  under  the said framework;and
- (c) whether the Government has conducted anystudy to assess the feasibility of such proposal interms of fiscal burden and its sharing and numberof judicial officers needed to offset the pendingcaseload?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE

## (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

(a) to (c): 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 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.

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 for India, Solicitor General of India, Secretaries of Department  of  Justice,  Legal  affairs  and  Legislative  Department.    Setting  up AIJS  was  also  deliberated  in  a  meeting  of  the  Parliamentary  Consultative Committee in March, 2017 and the Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of SCs/STs on 22.02.2021.

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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