Introduction
The All-India Judicial Services (AIJS) were not originally included in the Indian Constitution, but later Article 235 was added, which stated that the lower court was subservient to the High Court. The notion of forming an All-India Judicial Services Commission was initially proposed by the Law Commission (1st, 8th, and 11th, 116th) in 1958. (AIJS).
The Chief Justices Conferences of 1961, 1963, and 1965 advocated the formation of an AIJS, but certain High Courts were opposed to the notion since it took away their power to recruit lower-level judges. The recruitment of the lower judiciary is the responsibility of the state governments, which is done either by the High Courts or the State Public Service Commissions.
The Swaran Singh Committee issued its recommendations in 1976, and Article 312 (which dealt with the All India Services) was amended to include judicial services, with the exception of those below the rank of a district court judge.
The recruitment of District Court judges will become centralized with All-India Judicial Services, as candidates would be selected after passing an all-India examination and then allotted to each state. It remains to be seen whether this approach to recruitment will prove to be transparent and effective in identifying the greatest legal talent in India.
Need For All India Judicial Services
Huge Judicial Vacancy- There are currently around 5000 vacancies in India’s lower judiciary.
Delays In Recruitment- There are about 3 crore cases languishing in the lower judiciary, with the primary cause being the states’ failure to conduct tests on time.
Inadequate Funding From State Governments- State judicial services do not attract the “best people” because state governments do not offer competitive salaries, benefits, and compensation.
Shortage of Qualified Judicial Officers- The quality of justice delivery has been steadily declining, affecting the higher judiciary.
Discretion Of A Small Group- Choosing a judge is a serious duty that should not be left to the whims of a small group of judges, no matter how judicious they are.
Subjectivity In The Process- Currently, the collegium’s judicial appointments are prone to subjectivity, corruption, and nepotism. As a result, it is critical to construct an impartial recruitment system that reflects the country’s social realities and diversity.
Objections To The All-India Judiciary
Separation of powers is weakened- The state judiciary is under the supervision of the High Courts, according to Article 235. If the responsibility for state judiciary recruitment is transferred from the High Courts to the Union government via AIJS, the judiciary’s independence will be jeopardized.
The problem of the local language- Judges in the District Court and Sessions Court speak in the state language, making it difficult for AIJS officers to adjust to the local language and dialects, affecting the delivery of justice.
Local laws are a problem- AIJS ignores the issue of local laws and customs, which vary greatly across the country.
AIJS just affects the top of the iceberg; it does not address the issue of poor pay or the absence of proper judicial infrastructure in the states, such as courts and training centers for officers. Despite the fact that district court judges occupy less than one-third of the seats in the High Courts, AIJS does not suggest any adjustments to ensure improved representation of district court judges in the High Courts. As a result, the selected judges’ training costs would rise.
List Of All The Chief Justice Of India
| Image | Name (birth–death) | Period of office | Tenure | Appointed by (President of India) | |
 | HarilalJekisundas Kania (1890–1951) | 26 January 1950 | 6 November 1951+ | 1 year, 284 days | Rajendra Prasad |
 | Mandakolathur Patanjali Sastri (1889–1963) | 7 November 1951 | 3 January 1954 | 2 years, 57 days | |
 | Mehr Chand Mahajan (1889–1967) | 4 January 1954 | 22 December 1954 | 352 days | |
 | Bijan Kumar Mukherjea (1891–1956) | 23 December 1954 | 31 January 1956+ | 1 year, 39 days | |
 | Sudhi Ranjan Das (1894–1977) | 1 February 1956 | 30 September 1959 | 3 years, 241 days | |
 | Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha (1899–1986) | 1 October 1959 | 31 January 1964 | 4 years, 122 days | |
 | Pralhad Balacharya Gajendragadkar (1901–1981) | 1 February 1964 | 15 March 1966 | 2 years, 42 days | Rajendra Prasad |
 | Amal Kumar Sarkar (1901–2001) | 16 March 1966 | 29 June 1966 | 105 days | |
 | Koka Subba Rao (1902–1976) | 30 June 1966 | 11 April 1967‡ | 285 days | |
 | Kailas Nath Wanchoo (1903–1988) | 12 April 1967 | 24 February 1968 | 318 days | |
 | Mohammad Hidayatullah (1905–1992) | 25 February 1968 | 16 December 1970 | 2 years, 294 days | Zakir Husain |
 | Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah (1906–1991) | 17 December 1970 | 21 January 1971 | 35 days | V. V. Giri |
 | Sarv Mittra Sikri (1908–1992) | 22 January 1971 | 25 April 1973 | 2 years, 93 days | |
 | Ajit Nath Ray (1912–2009) | 26 April 1973 | 27 January 1977 | 3 years, 276 days | |
 | Mirza Hameedullah Beg (1913–1988) | 29 January 1977 | 21 February 1978 | 1 year, 24 days | Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed |
 | Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud (1920–2008) | 22 February 1978 | 11 July 1985 | 7 years, 139 days | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy |
 | Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati (1921–2017) | 12 July 1985 | 20 December 1986 | 1 year, 161 days | Zail Singh |
 | Raghunandan Swarup Pathak (1924–2007) | 21 December 1986 | 18 June 1989‡ | 2 years, 209 days | |
 | E. S. Venkataramiah (1924–1997) | 19 June 1989 | 17 December 1989 | 181 days | Ramaswamy Venkataraman |
 | Sabyasachi Mukharji (1927–1990) | 18 December 1989 | 25 September 1990† | 281 days | |
 | Ranganath Misra (1926–2012) | 26 September 1990 | 24 November 1991 | 1 year, 59 days | |
 | Kamal Narain Singh (1926–) | 25 November 1991 | 12 December 1991 | 17 days | |
 | Madhukar Hiralal Kania (1927–2016) | 13 December 1991 | 17 November 1992 | 340 days | |
 | Lalit Mohan Sharma (1928–2008) | 18 November 1992 | 11 February 1993 | 85 days | Shankar Dayal Sharma |
 | M. N. Rao Venkatachaliah (1929–) | 12 February 1993 | 24 October 1994 | 1 year, 254 days | |
 | Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi (1932–) | 25 October 1994 | 24 March 1997 | 2 years, 150 days | |
 | Jagdish Sharan Verma (1933–2013) | 25 March 1997 | 17 January 1998 | 298 days | |
 | Madan Mohan Punchhi (1933–2015) | 18 January 1998 | 9 October 1998 | 264 days | K.R Narayanan |
 | Adarsh Sein Anand (1936–2017) | 10 October 1998 | 31 October 2001 | 3 years, 21 days | |
 | Sam Piroj Bharucha (1937–) | 1 November 2001 | 5 May 2002 | 185 days | |
 | Bhupinder Nath Kirpal (1937–) | 6 May 2002 | 7 November 2002 | 185 days | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam |
 | Gopal Ballav Pattanaik (1937–) | 8 November 2002 | 18 December 2002 | 40 days | |
 | Vishweshwar Nath Khare (1939–) | 19 December 2002 | 1 May 2004 | 1 year, 134 days | |
 | S. Rajendra Babu (1939–) | 2 May 2004 | 31 May 2004 | 29 days | |
 | Ramesh Chandra Lahoti (1940–2022) | 1 June 2004 | 31 October 2005 | 1 year, 152 days | |
 | Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal (1942–2015) | 1 November 2005 | 13 January 2007 | 1 year, 73 days | |
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