A view of the Andhra Pradesh High Court building. | Photo Credit:
V. Raju
A Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court comprising Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami and Justice C. Praveen Kumar held Rule 5(2)(a)(i) of the Andhra Pradesh State Judicial Service Rules, 2007 as unconstitutional.
The rule stipulated that a person seeking appointment as a civil judge must be practising as an advocate for not less than three years as on the date of publication of the advertisement in newspapers.
The court declared that every candidate holding a law degree awarded by any recognised university was eligible for the position of junior civil judge, and said it struck down the additional qualification of three years of practise as an advocate imposed by the amended rule in view of an earlier Supreme Court decision, which is binding on all the High Courts as provided under Article 141 of the Constitution.