The government has come up with a new proposal to explore the idea of NEET like entrance examination for the recruitment of judges in lower judiciary. The proposed scheme will challenge the 60 years old idea of the formation of all Indian judicial service.
“As per the process followed by NEET, the CBSE is responsible for conducting the entrance test, declaration of result and preparation of an all-India rank,” as mentioned in the letter penned by the Secretary Justice to the Secretary General of the Supreme Court.
The proposal has bee put forth as a letter. It was written in the light of December 31, 2015, realization that almost 4,452 position for the judges was vacant. The sanctioned strength is 20,502 but the actual strength of subordinates in the court is 16,050.
“While there has been a gradual increase in the sanctioned strength of the subordinate judiciary, the working strength of judges is still low due to delay in filling up vacancies. This indicates that the high courts and state public service commissions are facing difficulties in filling up vacancies, which in turn contributes to delay in disposal of cases and a rise in pendency,” read the letter
Apart from this, other numerous other models, like a centralized examination or an entrance by UPSC / IBPS, has also been suggested for eliminating the vacancies and optimizing the resources.
It is believed that Union Public Service Commission will guide the recruitment procedure in the right direction. However, some of the features adopted by Institute of Banking and Personnel Selection also seems quite effective.
Earlier in April, a meeting regarding the vacant position of the Judges was held. During the meeting, Adarsh Goel suggested that alternatives must be sought to enhance the recruitment procedure.
For now, various high courts conduct its own entrance exam for the recruitment. The introduction of a single entrance examination will not only eliminate micro level entrance exams but will also bring more transparency and structure.
The letter has also been sent to all the states for review. It is expected that the hearing regarding the same will start in the month of July 2017, once the summer break is over.
