LexStreakRead free →
Supreme Court of India· 21 August 2026

How much practice is required where recruitment is notified on or after 01.04.2027?

Bhumika Trust v. Union of India and Others
2026 INSC 904 · Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1110 of 2025
Coram: K. Vinod Chandran; Surya Kant; Augustine George Masih
🔖 Save this judgment🔔 Follow Art. 233(2) Constitution of India📬 Get today's judgments
View the original judgment PDFFree to read. To download it — or the LexStreak typeset copy with the headnote and Points of Law — create an account; downloads are part of the Pro plan.
Answer

At least one year of actual practice. It is subject to verification through issuance of a Certificate of Practice, which shall not be issued unless the candidate’s presence and participation in effective judicial proceedings have been duly recorded in accordance with the mechanism to be prescribed by the High Courts. The training and Law Clerkship still follow appointment.

Headnote

Constitution of India — Art. 233(2) — All India Judges' Association — Civil Judge (Junior Division) — Three-year practice requirement — Trainee Judicial Officer — State Judicial Academy — Law Clerkship — Certificate of Practice — Review — Judicial service — Recruitment — Familiarity with the functioning of courts — Held: Whether a person aspiring to become a Civil Judge should have some familiarity with the functioning of courts is answered in the affirmative. Whether it must come through conventional practice at the Bar admits of a different answer. (¶59) Review — Scope of interference with a coordinate Bench — Held further: It does not substitute its assessment for that of the Bench which rendered the Judgment under Review on the desirability of practical experience, nor hold the three-year requirement inherently unreasonable. The intervention is directed to its enforcement and implementation. (¶63) Judicial service — Institutional training and Law Clerkship — Equivalence to practice — Held further: In the transitional period all law graduates are eligible, deemed to have completed one year of active practice. A year of intensive training at a State Judicial Academy and a year of Law Clerkship each count as practice. (¶69, 73) Judicial service — Recruitment after 01.04.2027 — One year of actual practice — Held further: For notification(s) issued on or after 01.04.2027 candidates must possess at least one year of actual practice, verified through a Certificate of Practice. The scheme remains in force for five years; the Judgment under Review stands modified. (¶74, 79, 82)

In the Court's own words
Paragraph 74We further direct that for the period following the transition period, i.e., notification/advertisement(s) issued on or after 01.04.2027, the following directions shall govern the recruitment to the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division):
Acts & Sections
Art. 233(2) Constitution of IndiaArt. 217(2) Constitution of India

One judgment a day. That's the whole habit.

Read the full text of Bhumika Trust v. Union of India and Others — and get the Supreme Court's output as a five-minute daily read, with plain-language headnotes and the questions each judgment settles.

Create my free account

Free forever plan · 30 seconds · data stays in India

Open the full judgment →

Also decided in this judgment
Must a law graduate complete three years of practice at the Bar to become a Civil Judge?Does training at a State Judicial Academy count towards the three-year requirement?Can a fresh law graduate apply for Civil Judge recruitment notified before 31.03.2027?
Plain-language answer prepared by the LexStreak Editorial Desk — verify against the judgment. Source: Supreme Court of India. Corrections