Judicial Officers Who Completed 7 Years' Bar Experience Eligible For Direct Recruitment As District Judges: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court clarified eligibility for direct recruitment as district judges under the bar quota where candidates are judicial officers with prior practice. It held that judicial officers who have accumulated seven years of prior bar experience by the date of application may count that experience for qualification, subject to proof and compliance with recruitment rules. The decision reconciles competing interpretations on whether prior advocacy years interspersed with judicial service qualify towards the seven-year benchmark.