How to Become Judge - Steps to Become a Judge in India

How to Become Judge: In India, one of the most respected and dream jobs of many people is a magistrate/ a judge. In the world's biggest democratic country India becoming a judge is a very responsible and proud position, where the judiciary system is totally independent. The working and effectiveness are properly dependent on the judges or people in the judiciary system.

Who is Judge:

A person who is appointed or elected in a court of law to decide who is punishable, what punishment should be given, and to make legal decisions. A judge does all the work in the courtroom as well as outside the courtroom, their duty is to enforce the law and make sure that whosoever breaks the law should be punished. A judge takes decisions after listening to the case, supervises the work of the court, and tries to make settlements between both parties. The judge should always be neutral, no matter who is standing in front of him/her as accused or as a victim. Let's now discuss- How to become a judge 

Steps to Become a Judge After 12th:

Step 1: Apply for L.L.B programme

After completing 10+2 from any stream with 50% marks, candidates who want to know How to become a judge have to apply for the L.L.B program, to seek admission in the L.L.B program candidates have to give an entrance exam CLAT (common law admission test) which is held by NLU ( National law universities)  every year or can apply in any recognized body within the age of 20 years.

Step 2: Seeking admission in the L.L.B program

The admission in L.L.B will be done through entrance exams or merit-based it depending on the institutions and universities. Candidates should check the website of the institution or university before seeking admission.

Step 3: Crack state judicial service exam

After completing L.L.B candidates have to compete for the state judicial exam conducted every year, the exam is conducted in 3 phases:

1. Preliminary Examination: Preliminary exam is held to know the skill and knowledge of candidates, This exam is screening for the main exam. The questions asked in this exam are objective type. The percentage for qualifying preliminary exams is 60% for general and 55% for reserved categories.
2. Mains Exam:  There are three to four papers in these exams and they are of subjective type. The final selection will be done based on marks secured by the candidates, Candidates equal to three times the number of vacancies are called for Interviews.
3. Interview: Interview is the final stage of selection where candidates' scores are evaluated based on general interest, personality, and intelligence.

After completion of all these 3 steps, a candidate can become a judge.

Eligibility Criteria to Become a Judge

There is not a long list of eligibility criteria to become a judge, it’s simple to become a judge, anyone, from any background, can become a judge by following the steps mentioned above.

There are only 2 criteria to become a judge.

1. The candidate should be in between 21 years to 35 years.
2. The candidate must have a degree in law (L.L.B)

Skills Required to Become a Judge:

• The judge must be a good listener
• He/she should have logical thinking and reasoning
• A judge should definitely have a Legal knowledge 
• An unbiased approach is a really important skill to have in a judge
• Have empathy while listening to the trial
• Should notice everything, eye to detail
• Analytical skills should be good

Career as a Judge

In India having a career in the judiciary system is itself a big thing and being appointed as a judge is just like the cherry on the top. Judge is one of the most respected careers in India, it took lots of effort for handling the responsibilities of the judge. It is a judge’s responsibility to manage, control, interpret and apply the law as per the constitution of India, All the decisions in India where the question arises on law are taken by the judiciary system.

Judge is a very powerful position, and it can make people famous and more respected by their judgments. India has witnessed many powerful judgments by the judiciary system of India, which made the judges a golden part of history, this career needs wisdom, clarity of thinking, being truthful, and emotions sometimes. who wanted to understand -How to become judge needs to understand the Job roles as a judge first

Type of Job Roles as Judge

There are 6 types of jobs role for judges, it depends on the candidate's interest in which they want to pursue

1. District Judge
2. High Court Judge
3. Civil Judge
4. Sessions Judge
5. Supreme Court Judge
6. Author

Job Description of Judge

• Listen to the testimony of a witness
• Hear both the parties i.e., defending and prosecuting
• To supervise a fair trial and give decisions impartially.
• Instruct jury
• Give punishment to the guilty according to their actions.
• Determine the extent of punishments levied during trials.
• Rule on the eligibility of evidence.
• Rule on motions presented by counsel

Salary of a Judge

After knowing how to become a judge now let's also know The salary of a judge depends on two factors, job profile, and work experience. At each stage the salary of a judge is different, the approx salary a judge earns per year is 13,25,000.

Pros of Being Judged

• Being a judge, an individual gains so much respect and prestige in the public eye.
•  Judges don't have any fear of losing or switching jobs. Generally, they enjoy job security.
•  The salary package of judges is quite remunerative, judges enjoy some more benefits with their salary. Their salary is more than others in the legal profession. 

Cons of Being Judge:

• Being a judge is not an easy job, it can be very stressful sometimes, A judge has to keep an eye on every precise thing.
• Sometimes it becomes difficult for a judge to be unbiased, they have to keep their belief system aside and give the correct decision.
• There is limited career growth in being a judge, after some years there are no further promotions that can be done in this profile.

Steps to Prepare for the State Judicial Service Exam

•  Select the state you want to appear for: First, the candidates need to select the state where they need to give the exam. There is a slight difference in exam patterns in every state. After selecting the state candidate can start studying according to it.
• See previous year's question paper: Going through the previous 10 years' question papers will be beneficial for the candidates as this will give them an idea of how questions will come. Candidates should go with the paper of their chosen state.
• Mainly focus on bare acts: Bare Acts are the backbone of law, and every multiple-choice question, short answer question, and long answer question have their root from bare acts.  Bare acts are really important. Read them as much as you can, try to revise them every day.
• Go through landmark judgments and current affairs: Current affairs are really crucial for this exam, before appearing for the exam take a look at all the current affairs and landmark judgments of the last 3 years.
•  Revise every day: It is easy to understand - How to become a judge but It’s not at all easy to pass the exam, it takes lots of effort. You can’t pass the exam by studying only for a month because there is a lot to cover in the syllabus. Just going through the syllabus once is not enough; you need to revise it every day.

Syllabus for Judicial Service Examination

In stage one that is preliminary exam questions are from the following subjects:

1. General Knowledge and Current Affairs
2. Proficiency In English Language and Aptitude
3. Constitutional law
4. IPC, CPC, CrPC, and The Indian Evidence Act
5. Contract Law and Tort Law
6. Transfer of Property law

For the state second Mains exam, the pattern of exam and question differs with the state. Candidates should check the syllabus for the second stage according to the state in which they are appearing for the exam.

The third and last stage is an interview in which candidates will be judged on their personality, general knowledge, and intelligence.

Overview of Judiciary Exams:

In Subordinate Courts, the Judicial Services Examination is every year conducted for the appointment of Civil Judges (Junior Division). Every country in India has its character judicial examination inclusive of the Delhi Judicial examination, Haryana Judicial Service examination, etc. These tests are carried out with the aid of using the Public Service Commission of every country under the supervision of their respective High Courts.

Almost every year, 24 states in India conduct the Judicial Service examination. These include:

List of States, who Conducting Judicial Service Examination
Arunachal Pradesh	Assam	Bihar	Jammu & Kashmir	Goa	Karnataka
Himachal Pradesh	Haryana	Manipur	Uttar Pradesh	Delhi	Jharkhand
Madhya Pradesh	Maharashtra	Sikkim	Uttarakhand	Kerala	Chhattisgarh
Punjab	Rajasthan	Mizoram	West Bengal	Odisha	Nagaland