Chhattisgarh Civil Judge Exam: SC Clears Way for Prosecutors and Govt Advocates to Appear
The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim relief to a group of petitioners, including Public Prosecutors and Government Advocates, allowing them to provisionally sit for the Chhattisgarh Judicial Service (Civil Judge – Junior Division) Preliminary Exam scheduled this Sunday.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, along with Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria, directed the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) to permit the petitioners to take the exam even if they are not currently enrolled with the Bar Council. The Court clarified that this relief applies only to those petitioners before it and will not automatically give them any advantage in the final selection process.
The candidates had been denied admit cards as the recruitment notification required enrolment with the State Bar Council as on the date of advertisement. Prosecutors and government counsels suspend their Bar enrolment after taking up such posts, which led the Commission to reject their eligibility.
Since the Chhattisgarh High Court had refused relief earlier, the petitioners moved the Supreme Court. During the hearing, the CJI remarked that lawyers who were once enrolled but suspended their licence for government service stand on a different footing than those who never enrolled at all.
Senior Advocates Uttara Babbar and Vipin Sanghi argued on behalf of the petitioners, contending that excluding them from the process was contrary to earlier Supreme Court rulings, including Deepak Aggarwal v. Keshav Kaushik, which recognised Public Prosecutors and Government Lawyers as advocates.
The dispute stems from a 2024 amendment in the Chhattisgarh Judicial Service Rules, making Bar enrolment mandatory. The issue gained further complexity after the Supreme Court’s May 2025 judgment in the All India Judges Association (AIJA) case, which introduced a three-year minimum practice requirement for Civil Judge appointments. However, the Court clarified that exams already notified before the judgment should continue under the old rules.
Despite this, the CGPSC refused to issue admit cards to candidates without Bar enrolment as of December 23, 2024 — the date of advertisement — prompting the petitioners to approach the Supreme Court. The matter will now be heard in detail, but until then, the petitioners have been allowed to sit for the exam.
Case: Urwashi Kour and Others v. State of Chhattisgarh | Diary No. 53495/2025
