Madhya Pradesh High Court Stays Recruitment of Civil Judges Following 2022 Exam

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued a significant directive, pausing the ongoing recruitment process for the civil judges entry level examination 2022. This decision came into effect on Thursday, as the court ordered both the Registrar and the Registrar Examination Division of the High Court to halt further proceedings regarding this recruitment drive. The directive was part of a division bench's ruling, led by Acting Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice AN Kesharwani.

The court's intervention mandates a thorough review of the candidates declared successful in the preliminary examination held on January 14, 2024. Specifically, it requires the exclusion of candidates who do not meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the Amended Recruitment Rules. Following this review, the cut-off marks are to be recalculated based on a 1:10 ratio, as specified in Clause 72 of Advertisement No.113/Examination/CJ/2022 dated November 17, 2022.

Subsequently, fresh call letters will be dispatched to those candidates who, under the Amended Recruitment Rules, have achieved scores equal to or higher than the newly calculated cut-off marks. These individuals will be invited to participate in the Main Examination. The court's order further specifies that a new Main Examination will be conducted exclusively for this group of eligible candidates.

In an additional measure to ensure fairness and adherence to eligibility criteria, any candidates who participated in the Main Examination but are found ineligible will be removed from the results of that examination. This decision follows a revision petition that led to the recall of an earlier court order dated May 7.

The revision petition was initiated by two aspirants challenging the May 7 court order. They argued that the High Court had previously validated the eligibility requirement of a minimum of 70 per cent marks in LLB without ATKT (Allowed To Keep Terms) or alternatively, three years of experience at the Bar as stipulated in the advertisement dated November 17, 2023. The petitioners' counsel, Atul Chaudhari, highlighted their contention that the list from the preliminary examination should be reassessed with new cut-off marks after removing those who do not meet the criteria for the main examination.

This judicial intervention underscores a commitment to ensuring that recruitment processes are conducted transparently and fairly, adhering strictly to established eligibility criteria. It also reflects the judiciary's role in overseeing public recruitment drives to maintain integrity and meritocracy.