President Murmu backs all-India test to appoint judges

​President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday favoured the creation of an All-India Judicial Service (AIJS) to pick judges from varied backgrounds through a process, which she said, should be merit-based, competitive and transparent.

Murmu’s call for an AIJS revived a dialogue over a pan-Indian test for judges on the lines of the central civil services that has lingered in the backdrop of the judicial reforms debate for more than 60 years.

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Speaking at the Constitution Day celebrations, Murmu emphasised that a more varied representation of India’s unique diversity on the bench and the bar definitely helps serve the cause of justice better, adding one way to hasten the diversification process can be the creation of a system in which judges can be recruited from different backgrounds through a merit-based and transparent process.

“There can be an All-India Judicial Service which can select brilliant youngsters and nurture and promote their talents from lower levels to higher levels. Those who aspire to serve the bench can be selected from across the country to create a larger pool of talent. Such a system can offer opportunities to the less represented social groups too,” she said.

“I wish to do something for such children so that they can come here. They’re young, talented, energetic, and loyal to the country. For IAS, IPS, there is an all-India examination. There can be an All India Judicial Service which can select brilliant young stars and nurture and promote their talent from lawyer level to higher level,” Murmu added.

With Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also present on the occasion, Murmu said that she would leave it to the wisdom of all the stakeholders to devise any effective mechanism that could strengthen the justice delivery system.

The President’s call for the AIJS came on Sunday even as the proposal has remained contentious and has been debated in legal circles for at least six decades. In 1958, the 14th report of the Law Commission of India had recommended the creation of the AIJS to create a cadre of judges who can be appointed at the districts courts level across the country.

In 1961, a proposal for the AIJS was suggested in the chief justices’ conference as a way to remove any scope for judicial or executive intervention in the appointments to the judiciary. The proposal was, however, shelved after some states and high courts opposed it until 1976 when the Constitution was amended to provide for an AIJS under Article 312.

The recommendation for the creation of All India Judicial Service (AIJS) was once again given by the Law Commission in its 77th report which was submitted in 1978 and in its 116th report which was submitted in 1986. In 1992, the Supreme Court also endorsed the concept of the AIJS, asking the Union government to assess its feasibility.

The proposal was again floated by the UPA government in 2012 but the draft bill was shelved again after opposition from the high court chief justices and state governments which cited Articles 233 to argue that recruitment to subordinate judiciary is the prerogative of the state.

In 2021, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government also proposed to pass a bill on the AIJS but cited lack of consensus to go ahead. The then Union minister for law & justice Kiren Rijiju had in 2022 informed the Rajya Sabha that there was no proposal to bring AIJS due to lack of consensus among various state governments and high courts.

During her address, Murmu further said that the justice-delivery system has to be made citizen-centric in order to improve access to justice.

“The cause of justice is best served by making it accessible for all. This also strengthens equality. We should ask ourselves whether every single citizen is in a position to seek justice. On introspection, we realise that there are many barriers in the way. Cost is the most significant factor. There are other barriers like language, which is beyond the comprehension of a majority of citizens,” said the President, even as she praised the recent initiatives of the Supreme Court to facilitate citizens.

Murmu applauded the live webcast of court proceedings as a measure that transforms citizens into true stakeholders of the judicial system, besides highlighting the Supreme Court’s endeavour to provide judgments in various regional languages, emphasising that this step enhances accessibility and strengthens equality.

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The President also appreciated the Supreme Court for playing the role of the final interpreter of our founding document to perfection. She stated that this Court’s bar and bench have constantly raised the standards of jurisprudence.

“Their legal acumen and scholarship have been par excellence. Like our Constitution, our Supreme Court too has been a model for many other nations. With a vibrant judiciary, the health of our democracy is never going to be a cause of concern,” she said.