Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service (Cadre and Recruitment) Rules, 2007 Complete Act - Bare Act

RULES

1. Short title:-

These rules may be called the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service (Cadre and Recruitment) Rules, 2007.

2. Definition :-

In these rules ˜High Court means ˜the High Court of Judicature at Madras' and the Government means ˜ the Government of Tamil Nadu.

3. Constitution:-

The Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service shall consist of the following categories, namely

Category:-

1. District Judge ( Supertime Scale )

2. District Judge ( Selection Grade )

3. District Judge ( Entry Level )

4. Senior Civil Judge /Chief Judicial Magistrate/Chief

Metropolitan Magistrate/Metropolitan Magistrate ( Assured Career Progression scale " II Stage)

5. Senior Civil Judge/Chief Judicial Magistrate/Chief Metropolitan Magistrate/Metropolitan Magistrate ( Assured Career Progression scale " I Stage)

6. Senior Civil Judge/Chief Judicial Magistrate/Chief Metropolitan Magistrate/Metropolitan Magistrate.

7. Civil Judge (Assured Career Progression scale "II Stage)

8. Civil Judge(Assured Career Progression scale "I Stage)

9. Civil Judge

4. APPOINTING AUTHORITY.

The appointing authority for the categories posts shall be the authority vested with such authority under Article 233 and Article 234 of the Constitution of India.

Provided that the appointing authority for appointment by promotion to categories 1. District Judge ( Supertime Scale) 2. District Judge (Selection Grade), 3. Senior Civil Judge /Chief Judicial Magistrate/Chief Metropolitan Magistrate/Metropolitan Magistrate shall be the High Court, Madras in accordance with Article 235 of the Constitution of India.

5. METHOD OF APPOINTMENT, QUALIFICATION AND AGE:-

In respect of each category of posts specified in column (1) of the Schedule below, the method of appointment and the qualifications shall be a specified in the corresponding entries in columns (2) and (3) thereof and the respective Annexure thereof:-

THE SCHEDULE

5.A " Appointment on Deputation:

Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, appointment to the service may also be made by the Government, in consultation with the High Court, Madras by deputation of a person holding analogous post in the Pondicherry Judicial Service for a period not exceeding three years or for such a term as may be fixed by the High Court. Provided that such person on deputation, shall draw the pay as drawn by him/her in the scale of pay in the Union Territory of Pondicherry.

Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, any member of the Tamil Nadu State Judicial service, may also be deputed to the Pondicherry Judicial Service by the Government in consultation with the High Court, Madras to an analogous post, for a period of three years or for such a term a

fixed by the High Court.

Provided that such person on deputation shall draw the pay as per the terms and conditions governing the deputation.

Provided that such person on deputation shall draw the pay as per the terms and conditions governing the deputation.

6. Training, test and Confirmation:-

(1) Training:-

a) Every person appointed to the category of District Judges (Entry Level) by direct recruitment, shall undergo:-

(i) training as Civil Judge for a period of not less than six months:-

(ii) training as Senior Civil Judge for a period of not less than six months and

(iii) training in Forensic Science for a period of not less than two months.

(b) As many temporary additional posts in the cadre of District Judge as there are directly recruited District Judges undergoing training shall be created for the duration of the said training.

(c) Every person appointed to the category of Civil Judge shall undergo training for a period of twelve months.

The District Judges (Entry Level)/Civil Judges appointed by direct recruitment, shall be paid the minimum of the time scale of pay applicable to the post of District Judge/Civil Judge during the period of training and allowed annual increment even during the period of training. If they pass the Account Test for Executive Officers before the completion of one year of service, they shall be eligible to draw the first increment in advance from the date following the date of passing such examination.

(2) Tests:-

Every person appointed to the categories of District Judge (Entry Level)/Civil Judge by direct recruitment shall, within the period of probation, pass the Account Test for Executive Officers.

(3) Confirmation:-

An officiating District Judge (Entry Level) or an officiating Civil Judge shall be confirmed by the High Court to be a full member of the service in the category concerned at the earliest possible opportunity in any substantive vacancy which may exist or arise in the category in which he/she is officiating according to his/her seniority in the category concerned.

7. Posting and Transfer:-

All postings and transfer of the members of the service, subsequent to their first appointment thereto, shall be made by the High Court.

8. Seniority:-

(1) The seniority of a person appointed to the category of District Judge ( Entry Level) shall be with reference to the date of appointment to the said Service.

(2) The seniority of a person appointed to the category of District Judge (Selection Grade)/District Judge (Supertime Scale) shall be determined by the date of first appointment to that category.

Provided that where the date of the first appointment of two or more District Judge to the category of the District Judge (Selection Grade)/District Judge ( Supertime Scale) is the same, the inter-se seniority shall be determined by the rank assigned to them in the list drawn by the High Court.

Provided further that the seniority of a person appointed to the category of District Judge by promotion from among the qualified persons belonging to the categories 4 or 5 or 6 as the case may be shall be fixed by the High Court.

(3) The seniority of a person appointed to the category of Senior Civil Judge shall be determined by the rank assigned in the list drawn by the High Court.

(4) The seniority of a person appointed to the category of Civil Judge shall be determined by the rank assigned to him / her in the list drawn by the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission.

9. Application of other Rules:-

All the regulating the conditions of service of the members of the State Civil Services, made from time to time under any law of the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution of India shall subject to Articles 233, 233-A, 234 and 235 of the Constitution of India, apply to the members governed by these rules.

10. Reservation of appointments:-

Rules 21 (b) and 22 of the General Rules for the Tamil Nadu State and Subordinate Service relating to reservation of appointment shall apply to the selection for appointment to the posts of District Judge (Entry Level) and Civil Judge by direct recruitment.

(2) Candidates with the following disabilities, namely, blind deaf/orthopaedically handicapped can seek for recruitment for the post of Civil Judge .

(l) 3 per cent of the vacancies in the post of Civil Judge in direct recruitment has to be filled by physically handicapped, namely, blind deaf/orthopadically handicapped. In the event of only one vacancy, the rule of reservation for physically handicapped shall not apply.

Provided that the candidate must produce a certificate from the Medical Board to the effect that the disability will not affect the performance of the job, namely, Civil Judge before appointment.

11. Probation:-

(1) Every person appointed to the post of District Judge (Entry Level) by direct recruitment shall from the date on which he/she joins duty be on probation for a total period of two years on duty within a continuous period of three years, including the period of training as may be prescribed by the High Court. The High Court shall be competent to extend the period of probation of a District Judge (Entry Level) if it is not satisfied with his/her work or conduct. Orders declaring the completion of probation shall be issued by the High Court.

(2) Every person appointed to the post of Civil Judge by direct recruitment, shall from the date on which he/she joins be on probation for a period of two years within a continuous period of three years, including the period of training as may be prescribed by the High Court.

(3) The High Court shall be competent to extend the period of probation of Civil Judge if it is not satisfied with his/her work or conduct. Orders declaring the completion of probation shall be issued by the High Court.

12. Oath or Affirmation by the District Judge or Civil Judge :-

Every person appointed as District Judge (Entry Level) or Civil Judge by direct recruitment shall, before he/she enters upon his/her office make and subscribe before the Chief Justice of the High Court or such other Judge of the High Court or District Judge, as may be appointed in that behalf by the Chief Justice, as Oath or affirmation in the following form:

"I having been appointed to the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service as .. do swear in the name of God/Solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by Law established that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment perform the duties of my office without fear and favour, affection or ill-will and that I will uphold the Constitution of India and the laws"

13. Repeal and Savings :-

(1) Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service (Cadre and Recruitment) Rules, 1995 are hereby repealed.

(2) The repeal shall not affect the validity of the list of selected candidates for the posts of District Judge or Civil Judge as the case may be under the repealed rules and appointment of such selected candidates.

(3) All the kinds of proceedings (including action taken to make recruitment and preparation of the list of selected candidates) commenced under the repealed rules and are pending on the date of commencement of these rules shall be continued and completed in accordance with the repealed rules as if they have not been repealed.

(1) The Government, in consultation with the Madras High Court shall invite applications for filling up the post of District Judge (Entry Level) by Direct Recruitment. The High Court shall conduct the written examination and viva voce as specified below for selection of District Judge (Entry Level) by Direct Recruitment.

(2) A candidate shall, along with his application "

a. If he /she is an Advocate or Pleader, produce from the Presiding Officer of the Court in which he/ she is actually practicing, a certificate indicating the length of his / her practice;

b. If he / she is an Assistant Public Prosecutor, Grade I or an Assistant Public Prosecutor, Grade II, produce from the Collector of the District concerned, a certificate indicating the length of his / her service;

c. Produce a certificate of good character, from a Senior Advocate /counsel and another from a responsible person, not being a relative but who is well acquainted with him / her in private life. The selection shall be made based on the results of written examination and viva voce i.e, the selection will be made on the basis of the total marks obtained by the candidates in the written examination and viva voce taken together subject to the rule of reservation of appointment. The maximum marks allotted for the written examination and viva voce shall be 75% and 25 % respectively. The Notification enlisting the successful candidates prepared under these rules shall be published in the Tamil Nadu Government Official Gazette and it shall cease to be operative as from the date of Publication of the next list of successful candidates prepared under these rules, in the Tamil Nadu Government Official Gazette.

(1) The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as the ˜Commission') will invite applications for direct recruitment to the post of Civil Judge, with reference to the vacancies reported by the Government through one English daily and one Tamil daily.

(2) A candidate who applies for direct recruitment to the said post should send along with his application, copies of all the essential certificates and documents specified in the notification issued by the Commission. Besides the above, he should send the following along with his application:-

(a) In the case of a member of the Bar, the Degree Certificate, Enrollment Certificate issued by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu, a certificate from the respective Association, in which he is a Member or from a Senior Advocate under whom he is practicing, to show that he is a practicing Advocate, specifying the number of years of such practice:

Provided that the candidates who have enrolled in the Bar Council of other States, in support of which they have already submitted documents with their application, shall produce a certificate at the time of viva-voce with regard to transfer of their names from the rolls of the Bar Council of other States, in which they had enrolled, to the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu, in the event of their admission to viva-voce.

(b) In the case of an Assistant Public Prosecutor or a Government Pleader, the appointment order as Assistant Public Prosecutor or Government Pleader and a service certificate from the Head of Department specifying the number of years of qualifying service.

(c) In the case of a fresh Law Graduate, Law Degree Certificate issued by the University concerned.

(d) Birth Certificate or any other authentic Certificate showing the date of birth of the candidate.

(3) The minimum marks for a pass in each paper of the written examination shall be 30%, for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Caste (A) and Scheduled Tribe; 35% for the candidates belonging to Backward Class (OBCM), Backward Class (M) and Most Backward Class /De-Notified Community and 40% for Others.

(4) The syllabi for the examinations shall be as follows:-

Translation of passages in English into Tamil and Tamil into English.

The passages will be from (1) Depositions, (2) Judgements, and (3) Documents.

The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Principles of pleading and the Constitution of India.

Framing of Issues and Writing of Judgements in Civil Cases.

Framing of charges and Writing of Judgements in Criminal Cases.

The candidate's General Knowledge and Knowledge of law, grasp of Procedural Laws and Principles of Law and his suitability for appointment as Civil Judge shall be tested. The minimum marks for a pass in the viva-voce for all categories of candidates shall be 18:

Provided that no candidate who has secured less than the minimum marks specified for the written examination shall be eligible for viva-voce.

(5) The Commission shall conduct the written examination and viva-voce as specified below: -

(a) On receipt of applications from the candidates, scrutiny of applications will be done by the Commission strictly in accordance with the instructions and guidelines prescribed by it for the purpose.

(b) Hall Tickets will be dispatched to the candidates whose applications have been admitted by the Commission, sufficiently in advance to the date of examination.

(c) Sets of question papers for drawal for all the four papers of the written examination together with answer keys will be set by the Hon'ble Judges of the High Court nominated by the Hon'ble Chief Justice for the purpose.

(d) Five sets of question papers in the prescribed syllabi will be set by moderators appointed by the Hon'ble Chief Justice from time to time and these sets would be handed over to the Commission for safe custody.

(e) The Hon'ble Chief Justice would pick up, in the presence of other Hon'ble Judges. a set of question papers containing key answers from a minimum of three such sets. The picked up set would be signed by the Hon'ble Chief Justice and by other Hon'ble Judges present and handed over to the Controller of Examinations, Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission for printing. The other not picked question papers would be collected back by the Controller of Examinations for safe custody.

(f) The printed question papers will be received at the Commission's office and will be transported to the designated Centres escorted by the officials from the Commission and the High Court. Each packet will contain 20 question papers and they will be bundled into larger parcels of cloth lined covers.

(g) At the point of arrival, the representatives of the High Court and the Commission will receive the sealed bundles containing the question papers and the papers will be kept inside the Treasury Vault under armed security.

(h) Chief Invigilators will be appointed by the Commission as per the usual procedure. On the previous day of examination, the Chief Invigilator appointed, shall verify the adequacy of question papers at the Treasury in the presence of officials of the Commission and the High Court and keep them back in Treasury vault till the morning of the examination day.

(i) On the day of examination, the question papers will be taken from the vault of the Treasury and transported to the examination centre as per the procedure evolved by the Commission, so that it will reach the examination centre at least half-an-hour before the examination. The question paper packet(s) shall be opened by the Invigilators five minutes before the commencement of the examination.

(j) The persons drafted for invigilation work will normally be the teachers of the educational Institution where the examination is conducted.

(k) The Commission's staff as well as the High Court or Judicial Officers may be deputed for inspection of the examination halls. Flying squads are also appointed by the District Revenue Officer, who is the co-ordinator for the examinations conducted by the Commission.

(l) Hon'ble High Court Judges or District Judges, to be nominated by the Hon'ble Chief Justice, can also make surprise inspection. Members of the Commission will also make surprise inspection.

(m) Immediately on the completion of the examination, all the answer papers of the candidates will be collected by the invigilators and the same will be counted, packed and sealed by the Chief Invigilator. The same will be signed by him, handed over to the persons nominated by the Commission and deposited in the Treasury for onward transmission to the Commission in chartered vehicles with police bandobust accompanied by the staff of the Commission.

(n) Dummy numbers will be assigned to the answer papers by the persons deputed by the Controller of Examinations in the Commission's office, after all the answer paper are received in the Commission's office, from the respective Centres.

(o) After the dummy numbers are assigned to the answer papers, the same will be sent by the Commission to the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy situated at Greenways Road, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai " 600 028 or any other place designated by the Hon'ble Chief Justice of Madras High Court for evaluation, which will be the centralized evaluation centre.

(p) District Judges (Super-time Scale), District Judges (Selection Grade) and District Judges (Entry Level), who have put in 3 years of service, are eligible to be appointed as Examiners.

(q) The bundle containing the answer keys would be handed over by the Controller of Examinations, to the Chief Examiner and the same would be opened by the Chief Examiner in the presence of other Examiners. Valuation of the answer papers shall be done by the examiners nominated by the Hon'ble Chief Justice for the purpose.

(r) The staff and officers of the Commission will be present at the time of evaluation of the answer sheets and assist the Examiners in the evaluation process.

(s) The Examiners will prepare the mark sheet (one copy only), seal it and hand over the same to the Controller of Examinations, for further processing.

(t) The Controller of Examinations will oversee the conversion of Dummy numbers, to Registration numbers before tabulation, for ascertaining the candidates who are qualified for admission to vivavoce.

(u) Candidates for viva-voce will be short listed in the ratio of 1:2 or 1:3 as specified in the Instructions, etc issued to the candidates appearing for the examination.

(v) The viva-voce will be conducted in the Commission's office with a minimum of five interview Boards per day, comprising of one Hon'ble Judge of the High Court and such number of Members of the Commission, as are available at the time of conduct of interview.

(w) An Hon'ble Judge of the High Court, to be nominated by the Hon'ble Chief Justice, for each of the interview Boards constituted will be the chairperson of the Board and his views in the matter of awarding marks or grades, which is by consensus will normally be accepted, unless there are cogent reasons for not accepting such advice, to be recorded in writing by the Chairman and Members of the Commission.

(x) The marks or grade sheets will be sealed and handed over to the Secretary to the commission for safe custody. After the viva-voce is completed, the marks obtained by the candidates in written as well as viva-voce would be collated and published. The names of the successful candidates will, thereafter, be prepared by the Commission and sent to the Government of Tamil Nadu for appointment after due publication of the results as per Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service (Cadre and Recruitment) Rules, 2007.

(y) The Notification enlisting the successful candidates prepared under these rules shall be published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette and it shall cease to be operative from the date of publication of the next list of successful candidates prepared under these rules, in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette.

(6) A tentative time schedule for the recruitment would be prepared by the Commission in consultation with Hon'ble High Court and the same would be adhered to, to the maximum possible extent for finalizing the selection process".