Hyderabad: Advocates practicing in Telangana alone are eligible to apply for the post of District Judge, the Telangana High Court said here on Wednesday, January 3.
Upholding Rule 5 (1) of the Telangana State Judicial (Service and Cadre) Rules 2023 which allows advocates practising in the state eligible.
A division bench headed by Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice T Vinod Kumar observed the rule benefits candidates who are well-versed in the functioning of local courts.
A writ petition was filed by residents of Andhra Pradesh who argued that the rules were impermissible in law and ultra vires of Article 233 (District Judge selection) and Article 14 (equal protection of the laws within the territory of India) of the Indian Constitution.
They further argued that Rule 2 (k) of the Telangana State Judicial (Service and Cadre) Rules 2023 uses the phrase ‘means and includes’, implying that it includes the high courts of other Indian states. The rules had to conform with Article 233 of the Indian Constitution which states that an advocate holding legal practice of 7 years is eligible for the post.
Rejecting the arguments, the Bench pointed out that ‘means and includes’ denotes a ‘hard and fast interpretation’ and nothing else.
Lastly, the Bench noted that the Special Rules for Telangana Judicial Services issued by the Governor in 2017 and amended in 2020, where ‘High Court’ was defined as the ‘Court at Hyderabad’, before the bifurcation undivided Andhra Pradesh and then as High Court of Telangana after the bifurcation.
