No consensus on All India Judicial Service due to divergence of opinion: Union Law Minister informs Parliament

Responding to a query, he highlighted the divergence of opinion between state governments and High Courts on the issue.

He stated that Article 312 of the Constitution provides for the establishment of All India Judicial Service (AIJS), which shall not include any post inferior to that of a District Judge.

"The constitutional provision enables the creation of the AIJS at the district judge level. A comprehensive proposal was formulated for the constitution of an All India Judicial Service (AIJS) and the same was approved by the Committee of Secretaries in November 2012," he added.

He further said that the above proposal was included as an agenda item in the Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the High Courts held in April 2013 and it was decided that the issue needs further deliberation and consideration.

"The views of the state governments and High Courts were sought on the proposal. There was a divergence of opinion among the state governments and the High Courts on the constitution of All India Judicial Service," he added.

He further stated that the matter regarding the creation of a Judicial Service Commission to help the recruitment to the post of district judges and review of the selection process of judges/ judicial officers at all levels was also included in the agenda for the Chief Justices Conference, which was held on 3rd and 4th April, 2015, wherein it was resolved to leave it open to the respective High Courts to evolve appropriate methods within the existing system to fill up the vacancies for appointment of district judges expeditiously.

The proposal for the constitution of the All India Judicial Service with views from the High Courts and State Governments received thereon was also included in the agenda for the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts held on April 5, 2015. However, no progress was made in the matter.

The proposal of setting up of an All India Judicial Service was again discussed on points of eligibility, age, selection criteria, qualification, reservations, etc. in a meeting chaired by then Minister of Law and Justice on January 16, 2017, in the presence of the Minister of State for Law and Justice, Attorney General for India, Solicitor General of India, Secretaries of the Department of Justice, Department of Legal Affairs and Legislative Department. Setting up AIJS was also deliberated in a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee in March 2017 and the Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of SCs/STs on 22.02.2021.

It was proposed to include the issue of All India Judicial Service in the agenda for the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts held on April 30, 2022. However, the same could not be included in the agenda of the conference.

In view of the existing divergence of opinion amongst the major stakeholders, at present, there is no consensus on the proposal for setting up an All India Judicial Service, stated the Law Ministry. (ANI)