While the National-Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test is making news on a daily basis of late, thanks to the delay in results, the Central government has proposed NEET-like exams to recruit judges for lower courts.
The proposal, made by the government before the Supreme Court, comes after numerous states were against the formation of an all-India judicial service.
"Adoption of the model followed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for conducting the National-Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses could also be explored," the Press Trust of India quoted a letter written by the secretary (Justice) in the Law Ministry to the secretary general, Supreme Court.
"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."
There are said to be about 5,000 vacancies in subordinate courts and many of the recruited judges end up being posted in higher courts. Additionally, there have also been concerns over the process in which the judges are recruited as this process lacks proper structure and uniformity.
Apart from NEET-like exams, the letter also recommends a "centralised exam" that can be conducted by a "recruitment body" so that the procedure is uniform. While it says that the recruitment body can work under the supervision of the Supreme Court, the letter also says that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) can be asked to conduct these exams.
Talking about the vacancies, the letter says: "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."
The letter has now been sent to the state governments for their opinion on the same and may be discussed once the court reopens after a summer break in July.
