SC changes mind, finally allows non-NLU grads to become judicial clerks

Thursday, 8 January 2015 By Legally India Bar, Bench & Litigation

The Supreme Court has published revised rules regarding its selection of judicial clerks, for the first time allowing non-national law school students from applying.

The new rules, published on the Supreme Court’s website today, state that applicants can come from any law college accredited by the Bar Council of India (BCI), as well as specifying the application process in detail. Download PDF

In early 2014 the SC had filed a letters patent appeal against a Delhi high court judgment in a writ petition that had ruled the apex court’s national law school bias unlawful. The Supreme Court said that the restriction was its prerogative and told the court it had formed a committee to discuss revision of the rules.

The next hearing in the SC’s appeal is on 13 January. The Delhi high court judgment had resulted from the petition of an AIL Mohali student who was not eligible to apply for a judicial clerkship in the SC. One of the lawyers for the petitioner commented: “Whether she individually gets a clerkship or not her zeal to go to court and challenge the process has ensured many from any law college in India will get a shot at atleast becoming a law clerk.”

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Comments

mistake 8 Jan 2015, 15:57
+0 -0
the link only says the SC appealed the decision of the single judge. what happened to that appeal?
NLUbiasneedstogo 9 Jan 2015, 03:36
+7 -7
This might come as a relief to those of us who don't belong to National Law Universities but this, in some ways is just "de jure" relief. In reality, I expect the bias continue. There is no denying that these schools are better equipped to train young lawyers but the CLAT is nothing like the LSAT and the NLUs are NOT comparable to IITians who genuinely are head and shoulders above the rest. Having worked alongside, and beaten at various competitions, these NLU "products" I have seen several who are very ordinary when it comes to applying themselves to a particular subject-matter and actually thinking outside the box. There are those who are genuinely extraordinary but they are few and far in between. Imagine my disappointment then, when I see all and any of them sleepwalk their way to jobs that I have to work twice as hard for, not least because I have been judged before I even present myself somewhere, given that I do not carry "the tag." Of course, the standard response is, "But..but life at these universities is hard because they have project submissions and other whatsits." I have had "products" from these very universities who admit their work is plagiarized most of the times. So yeah, small relief on the whole.
Scooter- 9 Jan 2015, 08:28
+10 -3
While there may be som eexceptional students in non-N-colleges, the gap between the average ones at both the respective places is, at the risk of generalising, decently steep.

while the CLAT may not be as tough as the LSAT, it is still pulls out the generally more intelligent ones on that particular day. Most non N law school students would have tried to get into the N ones as well, but were not able to. so, you have to give some credence.

This in no way means all students at non N colleges are sub par. Im just talking of the average ones from both places.

in terms of the gap between the N and the non-N colleges. I know that the N colleges, are themselves having problems with getting and retaining quality faculty, I would be pleasantly surprised if the faculty quality in the non N colleges would be better than the N ones.

On plagiarism of projects. yes, it happens. at times you are able to get away with it. Some strict professors alsso do flunk students for doing so. However, it still gets the unmotivated student (the motivated will do well anywhere) to haul up his/her ass and prepare something which makes sense- original or not. at the end of the day, a law school is trying to teach you how to read law instead of law itself. so even a plagiarised project (50 of them) go some way than none.

just saying.
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