Pan-India Judicial exam?

Speaking at a function organised by the All India Lawyers Board in Lucknow on Monday, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad advocated the idea of reservation for SC/ST in a Judicial Services examination which can be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in a similar fashion as the other Central service examinations. The reservation will certainly help in creating trained professionals from the deprived sections, improving the judiciary's representative character. Not just that, the move gives young law graduates of the nation a full-fledged shot to the Central service privilege as well as ameliorates the significant shortage of judges across the country. Such an examination is one of the few ideas that the NITI Aayog report titled 'Strategy for New India @75' suggested. The report emphasised on an all-India judicial services examination on a ranking basis which can maintain high standards in the judiciary. A cadre of lower judiciary judges, Indian Legal Service (both Centre and states), prosecutors, legal advisors, and legal draftsmen for selecting young law graduates while a separate administrative cadre to streamline processes. This will augment the functioning of the judiciary. As it is, statistics cite the acute shortage of judges which has severely burdened the judicial system. Answering a question in the Rajya Sabha seeking to know the average pending cases per judge, the government unveiled that an average of 4,419 cases per judge is pending in the country's high courts and an average of 1,288 cases are pending per judge in the district and subordinate courts. That is an astonishingly high figure for the number of cases per judge indeed. So it is concerning for a commoner to note that the stereotypes of pending cases and delayed justice is prevalent and that it is best if they do not get to encounter it. From a general point of view, that is very dangerous since people rely on the efficiency and prowess of judiciary. These figures coupled with accounts of delayed justice put the rule of law in a bad light. So the Union Law Minister is right to acknowledge the need for an Indian Legal Service, having dual positive aspects of employment and increased efficiency of the judiciary in managing cases due to the increased influx of young and dynamic demographic. UPSC can be entrusted with the conduction of such a process without any discrepancies and ordeals as is the case with the country's other reputed public services such as IAS and IPS. We already have a large number of law colleges giving fine graduates that can be equated in number to engineers in the country soon, if not already. Minister's proposal has the backing of adequate data and that hints at a possible intervention into the existing affairs. In the light of how initiation of a proposal for appointment of judges in the Supreme Court vests with the Chief Justice of India, while the same in the high courts lies with the Chief Justice of the concerned high court, an administrative cadre and the new pan-India examination might be a game changer. It can prevent the induced vacancy in the courts due to the resignation, retirement, or elevation of judges to the higher court.

Going back to the NITI Aayog report, a performance index for judges should be considered and a separate State-wise index for "ease of getting justice" should be prepared. This will give an insight into the situation and efficiency of ongoing and dismissed cases. In the light of the many fixes required to strengthen the Indian judicial system, the idea of pan-India services acquires a big bite. Supporting any such recommendation to expedite its sanctioning in the system would be in the best interest of people. The value of public services is well known in the country. The fact that this idea constitutes a variety of concerns — reservation of deprived sections, general employment, vacancy and consequentially the efficiency in the judiciary — justify the minister's stance in advocating for the same. However, the idea is not new. The government has in the past proposed an all-India judicial service. But nine high courts opposed the proposal to have an all-India service for the lower judiciary. Eight others sought changes in the proposed framework and only two supported the idea. The lukewarm response was enough to interrupt the robust pursuit of any such change. However, with a new ray of light, the government may this time go all the way and present the nation with a prestigious new service that serves as a direct supply line to the judiciary and at the same time vigorously empowers its performance, while ensuring a direct opportunity for the deprived sections to represent themselves in the judiciary. Such reforms benefit both the society and the rule of law.