High Court orders reissue of civil judge results:Says absence of ST selections for 121 posts is serious and demands immediate corrective action

The Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur has taken a strict stand over the low selection of candidates from reserved categories in the Civil Judge Recruitment–2022. During the hearing held on Friday, the court termed it extremely serious that 121 posts remained vacant, not a single Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidate was selected, and only one Scheduled Caste (SC) candidate was chosen. The examination cell has been ordered to prepare a revised list by giving relaxation in the minimum marks. The court said that for the main examination, the minimum marks should be considered as 45% for SC and 40% for ST candidates. Relaxation has also been ordered in a minimum 20 marks required in the interview. The examination cell must present the revised list in the next hearing. Advocates Rameshwar Singh Thakur and Pushpendra Shah, appearing for the petitioner, informed the court that the examination cell did not correctly follow the reservation policy. Giving backlog posts to the unreserved category, not granting relaxation in minimum qualifying marks, and awarding low marks in interviews indicate discrimination. The result of the MP Civil Judge, Junior Division (Entry Level) 2022 was declared on 12 November. Out of 192 posts, only 47 candidates were selected. Bhamini Rathore from Indore secured the top position in Madhya Pradesh. She scored 291.83 marks out of 450 in the written and interview combined. Harpreet Kaur Parihar from Guna secured the second position with 281.83 marks. Riya Mandhania stood third with 281.50 marks. Civil Judge examination and result details: The lawyers’ organisation highlighted these flaws in the petition An organisation of lawyers, Advocate Union for Democracy and Social Justice, has filed a petition in the High Court. They said SC–ST candidates are not being given the benefit of reservation in the selection process. ST candidates were required to meet the same cut-off as the General category. The organisation has challenged the High Court’s recruitment advertisement of June 2024 and the preliminary exam result. The petition states that the recruitment advertisement wrongly labelled 17 unreserved posts as backlog, which is against reservation rules. Only reserved category posts are carried forward as backlog, not General category posts. The Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service (Recruitment and Conditions of Service Rules) 1994 was amended on 22 June 2023. According to Rule 5, candidates from General and OBC categories must score at least 50 marks. SC and ST candidates must score 45% in each paper and 50% in aggregate. This means SC and ST candidates have to score the same total marks as General and OBC candidates, providing no relaxation despite reservation. The Hindi version of the 2023 amendment states that SC and ST candidates need only 45% aggregate marks. The discrepancy between Hindi and English versions of the amendment is causing confusion. According to sub-rule 5 of Rule 5, all categories must score at least 40% in the interview and viva. Here too, no relaxation was given to SC–ST candidates. However, Rule 6 of the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules 1994 states that SC, ST and OBC candidates are entitled to reservation under the Madhya Pradesh Public Service (Reservation for SC, ST and OBC) Act, 1994. In states like Delhi, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, relaxation is given to SC, ST and OBC candidates in Civil Judge examinations conducted by their High Courts. The petition also alleges that SC and ST candidates were deliberately prevented from becoming Civil Judges in the prelims and mains examinations. A reason given for low selection Advocate Mohar Singh said this year’s examination was extremely difficult. Instead of focusing on laws, many questions were based on court judgments, due to which candidates faced problems in answering. The optional exam was also difficult, resulting in fewer candidates qualifying for the main exam. Even in the main exam, scoring 50% was necessary. Most candidates could not reach the 50% mark and were eliminated early. Amarpatan MLA also expressed concern over low selection Civil Judge exam pattern: Preliminary Examination Main Examination Oral Interview Amarpatan MLA also raised concerns Amarpatan MLA Rajendra Kumar Singh also expressed concern on social media. He wrote that the recent result of the Civil Judge examination held in Madhya Pradesh once again raises a serious question about whether our system is truly providing equal opportunities to every section of society. The exam was held for 191 posts, but ultimately only 47 candidates were selected. The most worrying fact is that not a single candidate was selected for the 121 posts reserved for the Scheduled Tribe category a matter of deep concern for any sensitive state.