Who Can Afford to Become a Judge?

A column on the Supreme Court’s August 2026 decision in Bhumika Trust v. Union of India, which reduced the three years of Bar practice required for the Civil Judge (Junior Division) examination to one. The author argues the decision, widely received as a relaxation, is not one when read in full.

Selected candidates would serve two years as trainee judicial officers, on half pay, without designation or seniority. The column argues this amounts to an unnecessary demotion, sits uneasily with the Constitution Bench’s decision in Rejanish KV v. K Deepa, and leaves unanswered whether the trainee period counts towards Article 233(2) or for seniority.

The author proposes that selected candidates instead be appointed as judicial officers from the outset, with full pay and seniority, and serve a two-year probation under the High Court’s control under Article 235.