Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that the quota for Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for promotion as District Judges from the cadre of Civil Judge (Senior Division) be increased from 10% to 25%.

The Court directed all High Courts and State Governments to amend their service rules to this effect.

Also, the minimum qualifying service period required for a Civil Judge (Senior Division) to appear in the LDCE is reduced to three years. Furthermore, the Court directed that 10% posts in Civil Judge (Senior Division) be reserved for accelarated promotion of Civil Judge (Junior Division) upon completing three years of qualifying service through LDCE.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, Justice AG Masih and Justice K Vinod Chandran passed these directions in the All India Judges Association case.

Through this judgment, the Court also restored the condition that Civil Judge (Junior Division) aspirants must complete a minimum practice of three years as an advocate.

The directions issued by the bench are :

Other stories about the judgment can be read here.

Case : All India Judges Association vs Union of India (Minimum Practice & LDCE issue)

Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 601

Click here to read the judgment