Odisha’s judiciary faces a shocking setback as no candidate qualifies for the District Judge recruitment exam.
In a surprising outcome, not a single candidate managed to qualify in the written examination conducted for the recruitment of 45 District Judges in Odisha’s district courts.
The Odisha Higher Judicial Services Exam was held on January 5, 2025, to fill judicial vacancies under two separate recruitment processes—one for in-service judicial officers and another for lawyers from the Bar. However, in an unexpected turn of events, the Orissa High Court announced on February 17 that no candidate had successfully cleared the examination.
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Limited Competitive Examination for Judicial Officers
Under Advertisement No. 12 of 2024, the Orissa High Court had invited applications to fill 14 district judge vacancies through the Limited Competitive Examination. This exam was meant for judicial officers already serving in the system, provided they had at least five years of qualifying experience as a Civil Judge (Senior Division).
A total of 83 judicial officers from various ranks—including Senior Civil Judges, Civil Judges, Chief Judicial Magistrates, and Additional Chief Judicial Magistrates—appeared for the test. Among them was even an officer serving on deputation as an Additional Registrar at the Supreme Court. Despite their experience, none of the candidates secured the required passing marks.
Recruitment of Lawyers from the Bar
A separate recruitment drive was also conducted for lawyers from the Bar, with 31 vacancies advertised in October 2024. The examination witnessed 283 candidates qualifying to appear for the written test. However, a significant number of these candidates remained absent, and those who took the exam failed to meet the required qualifying criteria.
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Dr. Arvind Kumar, FHEA, expressed skepticism over the results of the Odisha District Judge Exam, where no candidate managed to qualify.
Taking to social media, he stated.
“I do not think our country has such dearth of talent that no one qualified in written examination of district judge in Orisa. There might be something wrong with question paper and cut off mark”
Implications of the Poor Results
The outcome of these examinations raises concerns over judicial vacancies and the overall selection process. Odisha’s district courts are already struggling with a backlog of over 19.3 lakh pending cases as of January 31, 2025. Furthermore, with only 840 judicial officers serving against the sanctioned strength of 1,041, the shortfall in district judges could worsen the delay in case disposals.
These results highlight the stringent evaluation standards set by the judiciary and the possible need for reforms in legal education and training to ensure that candidates are adequately prepared for such high-stakes judicial roles.
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