Consensus eludes proposal to set up All-India Judicial Service: LawMin Arun Ram Meghwal in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: Owing to an “existing divergence of opinion among the stakeholders” there is “no consensus” on the government’s proposal to set up an All-India Judicial Service (AIJS), Union law minister Arun Ram Meghwal informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Meghwal said this in response to questions raised by JDU’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha, who asked whether the Centre was thinking of bringing AIJS for selecting judges.

The proposal for an All-India Judicial Service was first mooted in early 1960s. While the proposal was revived a few times, including in 2012, it could not be implemented due to opposition from some high courts and states. AIJS was proposed by the Modi government to centrally recruit judges on the line of civil services.

Meghwal submitted that a comprehensive proposal was formulated for the constitution of an AIJS and the same was approved by the Committee of Secretaries in November, 2012.

The above proposal was included as an agenda item in the Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the High Courts in April 2013 and it was decided that the issue needed further deliberation. “There was divergence of opinion among the state governments and the high courts on the constitution of All-India Judicial Service,” Meghwal has said.


“It was proposed to include the issue of All-India Judicial Service in the agenda for Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts held on 30th April, 2022. However, the same could not be included… In view of the existing divergence of opinion among the major stakeholders, at present, there is no consensus on the proposal for setting up an All-India Judicial Service,” reads Meghwal’s reply.Jha also asked whether the government was thinking of allowing foreign law firms to practice in India and whether the government held meetings with stakeholders in this regard.In response, Meghwal submitted that the Bar Council of India in March 2023 published rules for registration and regulation of foreign lawyers or foreign law firms in India.

BCI has maintained that foreign law firms in India have to subject themselves to the regulatory mechanism of BCI. Some of the rules include that foreign lawyers and law firms shall be allowed to advise their clients “about foreign laws and international laws only”. The rules further state that the foreign lawyers and law firms would render advisory work about such laws for their foreign clients only. And that they “shall be allowed to function in non-litigious areas only”.

The rules state “foreign lawyers and foreign law firms shall not be allowed to appear in any court, tribunal, board, before any statutory or regulatory authority or any forum legally entitled to take evidence on oath and/or having trappings of a court”. Also, the entry of foreign lawyers would be “on reciprocal basis only”, the rules state.

Meghwal informed the House that the government has not convened any meeting in this regard.

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