In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has allowed the 2022 Madhya Pradesh Civil Judge (Junior Division) recruitment process to proceed without enforcing the amended eligibility conditions that required candidates to have either three years of continuous legal practice or 70% marks in their LLB degree obtained in a single attempt.
A bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar set aside the June 13, 2024 order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court which had directed re-computation of marks and exclusion of candidates not fulfilling the amended rules. The Supreme Court clearly observed:
“The June 13 order of the High Court in exercise of revision jurisdiction is set aside. The appeal is allowed.”The Court held further:”The three-year practice or 70% LLB marks conditions shall not be enforced for the 2022 recruitment. The selection process is to proceed according to the original, unamended rules.”
This ruling brings relief to thousands of aspirants who had qualified under the earlier criteria and protected their legitimate expectations against retrospective application of new eligibility requirements.
The Supreme Court directed the Madhya Pradesh High Court to conclude the recruitment process based on the original rules without delay.
The controversy arose after the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Services Rules, 1994 were amended on June 23, 2023, making three years of legal practice compulsory or exemption with 70% marks in LLB.
The amended rules had been upheld earlier, but litigation continued over their retrospective effect on the 2022 recruitment cycle.
