No Proposal For All India Judicial Service Now Due To Lack Of Consensus : Law Minister Tells Lok Sabha

On Friday, in response to a question of two Members of Parliament, whether the Union Government is considering to create an All India Judicial Services (AIJS) so as to make recruitment process in lower judicial service more efficient, uniform and regular and also to address shortage of judges by filling up the vacancy in Judiciary timely, the Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju stated that at this juncture there is no proposal for an All India Judicial Service.The reason put forth by the Law Minister for not having such a proposal at this point in time is the divergent opinion amongst the stakeholders. Last year, in the winter session of the Parliament, faced with a similar question, Mr. Rijiju had submitted that the Union Government was, "engaged in a consultative process with the stakeholders to arrive on a common ground." He had also categorically listed out the State Governments that were in favour of the constitution of the AIJS (Haryana and Mizoram); those that rejected it (Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Punjab); those seeking modification (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Orissa, Uttarakhand) and the States that had not responded (Gujarat, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana, Goa, Sikkim, Tripura). The list of High Courts in favour (Sikkim, Tripura); against (Andhra Pradesh, Bombay, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madras, Patna, Punjab and Haryana, Calcutta, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Odisha); seeking modification (Allahabad, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Manipur); and those that had not responded (Guwahati, Madhya Pradesh) were also provided by the Minister. On Friday (16.12.2022) the Law Minister made it clear that at the moment there is no proposal for the constitution of an AIJS. However, he expressed the Government's opinion that a properly framed AIJS is important to strengthen the overall justice delivery system. He further added that such an all India merit selection system would facilitate induction of freshly qualified legal talent and inclusion of marginalised and deprived sections of the society. While answering the question, the Union Minister briefly narrated the background of how the issue of AIJS was being considered by the Government and how it met its fate. The proposal was initially formulated and approved by the Committee of Secretaries in November, 2012. Thereafter, 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, wherein it was decided that the proposal needs further deliberation. The views of the High Courts and the State Governments were sought on the proposal for constitution of an AIJS. In 2015, at the Chief Justices Conference the matter regarding creation of a Judicial Service Committee for recruitment of district judges and review of selection of judges and judicial officers at all levels was raised. However, it was decided that the matter be left open for the High Court to look into and to develop appropriate methods. The same year, the proposal of constituting AIJS along with the views of the High Courts and State Governments were taken up at the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts. Subsequently, the proposal was taken up, in 2017, in a meeting chaired by the Minister of Law and Justices. The proposal was also deliberated upon by the Parliamentary Consultative Committee, in 2017, and the Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of SCs/STs, in 2021. As per the last years' statement of the Law Minister only 2 States Governments and 2 High Courts had favoured the proposal, while 8 State Governments 13 High Courts were against the proposal; 5 State Governments and 6 High Courts sought modification and 13 State Government and 2 High Courts did not respond.

No Proposal For All India Judicial Service Now Due To Lack Of Consensus : Law Minister Tells Lok Sabha

Sohini Chowdhury

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