Part IV-A Extra Legal Department

Extra No. 154 © The Gujarat Government Gazette EXTRAORDINARY PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY Vol. LXVI ] TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025 / KARTIKA 13, 1947 Separate paging is given to this Part in order that it may be filed as a Separate Compilation. PART IV-A Rules and Orders (Other than those published in Parts I, I-A, and I-L) made by the Government of Gujarat under the Central Acts LEGAL DEPARTMENT NOTIFICATION Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar, 4th November, 2025 CONSTITUTION OF INDIA. No. GK/26/2025/JSR/1982/994/D(part-III): - In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to article 309 read with articles 233 and 234 of the Constitution of India and in supersession of notification No. GK/25/2025/ JSR/1982/994/D (part-III) dated, 07th October 2025, the Governor of Gujarat, after consultation with the High Court of Gujarat, hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Gujarat State Judicial Service Rules, 2005; namely:- 1. Short title and commencement: (1) These rules may be called the Gujarat State Judicial Service (2nd Amendment) Rules, 2025. (2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. IV-A Ex.-154 154-1154-2 GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX., 04-11-2025 [ PART IV-A 2. In the Gujarat State Judicial Service Rules,2005 (hereinafter referred to as “the said rules”), for rule 2, the following Rule shall be substituted “2. Definitions -In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires - (a) “Appointing Authority” means the High Court or the Government, as the case may be; (b) “Existing Rules” means the Gujarat Judicial Service Recruitment Rules, 1961; (c) “Government” means the Government of Gujarat; (d) “Governor” means the Governor of Gujarat; (e) “High Court” means the High Court of Gujarat; (f) “Official Gazette” means the Gujarat Government Gazette; (g) “Recruiting Authority” means the High Court of Gujarat; (h) “Recruitment Year” means the year commencing from the 1st Day of January of the year in which the recruitment process is initiated. (i) “Schedule” means the schedule appended to these rules; (j) “Service” means the State Judicial Service, which shall include Labour Judicial Service”; (k) “State” means the State of Gujarat.”. 3. In the said rules, in Rule 5,- (1) in sub-rule (1), for the clauses (i) and (ii), the following shall be substituted, namely :- (i) 50 percent of posts shall be filled by promotion from amongst the Cadre of Senior Civil Judges on the basis of principle of Merit-cum-Seniority and passing suitability test, as per procedure prescribed in Annexure-B. Provided that all those initial recruitment of Judges Labour Court which were made by the State Government prior to the taking over of the administrative control of the services of Industrial and Labour Court by the High Court, they shall be entitled for promotion to the post of Member, Industrial Court, if they have not less than 10 years of experience as Judge, Labour Court on the basis of principle of their inter-se Merit-cum-Seniority and on passing suitability test. (ii) 25 percent of posts shall be filled by promotion on the basis of Merit through Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE) from amongst Senior Civil Judges having not less than three years' qualifying service, as per procedure prescribed in Annexure-C. Provided that the Officer must have a minimum 7 years of service rendered as Civil Judge and Senior Civil Judge; Provided further that when candidates are not available for 25% seats or are not able to qualify in the LDCE for that particular year, then the vacant posts shall be filed by regular promotion in that particular year in accordance with clauses (i) above, Explanation: The vacancies for LDCE shall be calculated on the basis of cadre strength. (a) the Competitive Examination for LDCE shall consist of (i) Main Written Examination and (ii) Viva- voce Test; such examination will be conducted as per the syllabus, marking pattern, qualifying standard / criteria, etc. as decided by the Selection Committee from time to time. (2) in sub-rule (1), the proviso under clause (iii) shall be deleted. (3) in sub-rule (2), for clause (b) the following shall be substituted namely :- “ (b) must have been practicing as an Advocate for a period of not less than seven years in the Courts of Civil and/or Criminal jurisdiction on the last date fixed for receipt of applications.”. (4) for sub-rule (3) the following shall be substituted, namely :- “(3). (I) For being eligible for promotion against 50% of the total posts in the cadre of District Judges required to be filled by promotion on the basis of the principle of Merit-cum-Seniority, the qualifying service as Senior Civil Judge, shall not be less than Five Years service in the cadre.PART IV-A ] GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX., 04-11-2025 154-3 (II) For being eligible for promotion against the remaining 25% posts required to be filled by promotion strictly on the basis of Merit through Limited Departmental Competitive Examination, the qualifying service as Senior Civil Judge shall not be less than Three Years. Provided that the Officer must have a minimum 7 years of service rendered as Civil Judge and Senior Civil Judge;’’. 4 In the said rules, in Rule 6, the following shall be substituted as under, namely : “6. Recruitment to the Cadre of Senior Civil Judges shall be as under, - (i) 90 percent of the posts in the cadre of Senior Civil Judges shall be filled by promotion from the cadre of Civil Judges selected by the High Court on the basis of Merit-cum-Seniority from amongst the Civil Judges who have put in not less than Five Years of service, as per procedure prescribed in Annexure-D. (ii) 10 percent of posts shall be filled by promotion on the basis of Merit through Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE) from amongst Civil Judges having not less than Three Years' qualifying service, as per procedure prescribed in Annexure-E. Provided that when candidates are not available for 10% seats or are not able to qualify in the LDCE for that particular year, then the vacant posts shall be filled by regular promotion in that particular year in accordance with clause (i) above, Explanation : The vacancies for LDCE shall be calculated on the basis of cadre strength. (a) the Competitive Examination for LDCE shall consist of (i) Main Written Examination and (ii) Viva- voce Test; such examination will be conducted as per the syllabus, marking pattern, qualifying standard / criteria, etc. as decided by the Selection Committee from time to time.”. 5. In the said rules, Rule 7, in sub-rule (2) , for clause (b) the following shall be substituted, namely:- “(b) must have practiced as an Advocate for a period of not less than Three Years in the Courts of Civil and/or Criminal Jurisdiction on the last date fixed for receipt of application; such Candidate shall have to produce a Certificate of practice of such duration, duly certified either by the Principal Judicial Officer of that Court or by an Advocate of that Court having a minimum standing of 10 years duly endorsed by the Principal Judicial Officer of such a District or a Principal Judicial Officer at such a station. For those who are practicing before the High Courts or before the Supreme Court of India, shall be certified by an Advocate who has minimum standing of 10 years duly endorsed by an Officer designated by that High Court or by the Supreme Court of India. Provided that the experience gained while working as Law Clerks with any of the Judges or Judicial Officers in India will be considered while calculating the total number of years of practice; The number of years of practice completed shall be calculated from the date of provisional enrolment / registration with the concerned Bar Council. The Candidate shall have to produce the relevant EXPERIENCE CERTIFICATE of the concerned establishment under which the Candidate has served as Law Clerk.”. 6. In the said rules, in Rule 7(A), after the existing provisos, the following proviso shall be added, namely :- “Provided further that, for PwBD candidates, if a post is identified in the feeder cadre, all the posts in the promotional cadre shall also be stand identified.”. 7. In the said rules, for the words "calendar year" wherever they occurs, the words "Recruitment Year" shall be substituted. 8 In the said rules, in Rule 19,- (i) in the existing sub rule (1), the sub clause (ii) and the proviso of the said sub clause be deleted and the remaining sub clauses be re-numbered. (ii) in the existing sub rule (2), the sub clause (ii) and (iii) be deleted and the remaining sub clauses be re- numbered. (iii) a new sub-rule be inserted below the existing sub rule (1) and above the existing sub rule (2) as under:154-4 GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX., 04-11-2025 [ PART IV-A “(2) Senior Civil Judges :- Without prejudice to the existing relative seniority of Senior Civil Judges, all future appointments to the cadre of Senior Civil Judges by regular promotions and LDCE quota prescribed under Rule 6 shall be made as per the roster prescribed in Schedule-B. However, the roster shall be applicable for the respective Recruitment Year only.”. (iv) the existing sub clause (2) General, be re-numbered as sub clause (3) General. 9 In the said rules, in Rule 22, after sub rule (ii), the following sub- rule shall be added, namely :- “(iii) Every member appointed by Direct Recruitment to the cadre of Civil Judge shall undergo training for a period of at least 1 year, before presiding in a Court.”. 10 In the said rules, for the existing SCHEDULE-A the following shall be substituted, namely :- “SCHEDULE-A [see rule 19(1)(i)] RULE RELATING TO ROSTER IN RESPECT OF THREE WAYS RECRUITMENT IN THE CADRE OF DISTRICT JUDGES. Without prejudice to the existing relative seniority of the member of the higher judicial service, all future appointments to the cadre of District Judges by regular promotions, LDCE and direct recruitments in the quota prescribed under these Rules shall be made as per the roster prescribed. Accordingly, in a lot of hundred posts in the amalgamated cadre of District Judges - (i) Posts falling at Sr. Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 18, 21, 22, 25, 26, 29, 30, 33, 34, 37, 38, 41, 42, 45, 46, 49, 50, 53, 54, 57, 58, 61, 62, 65, 66, 69, 70, 73, 74, 77, 78, 81, 82, 85, 86, 89, 90, 93, 94, 97 & 98 and so on for every 100 posts are required to be reserved and earmarked for promotees from amongst Senior Civil Judges on the principle of Merit-cum-Seniority. (ii) The posts at Sr. Nos. 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 27, 31, 35, 39, 43, 47, 51, 55, 59, 63, 67, 71, 75, 79, 83, 87, 91, 95 & 99 and so on for every 100 posts are required to be reserved for promotees from amongst the Senior Civil Judges on the basis of the criterion of Merit only and, (iii) The posts at Sr. Nos. 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68, 72, 76, 80, 84, 88, 92, 96 & 100 and so on for every 100 posts are required to be filled in from direct recruits from amongst the eligible advocates as per the rules.". 11 In the said rules, after the SCHEDULE-A, so substituted the following SCHEDULE-B shall be added, namely: - “SCHEDULE-B [see rule 19(2)] RULE RELATING TO ROSTER IN RESPECT OF TWO WAYS RECRUITMENT IN THE CADRE OF SENIOR CIVIL JUDGE. Without prejudice to the existing relative seniority of the member of the judicial service, all future appointments to the cadre of Senior Civil Judges by regular promotions and LDCE in the quota prescribed under these Rules shall be made as per the roster prescribed. Accordingly, in a lot of hundred posts in the amalgamated cadre of Senior Civil Judges - (i) Posts falling at Sr. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12,13,14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98 & 99 and so on for every 100 posts are required to be reserved and earmarked for promotees from amongst Civil Judges on the principle of Merit-cum-Seniority. (ii) The posts at Sr. Nos. 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 & 100 and so on for every 100 posts are required to be reserved for promotees from amongst the Civil Judges on the basis of the criterion of Merit only." 12. In the said rules, in Annexure-A, for the existing words, brackets and figures, "[See rule 11(i)(ii)]", the words brackets and figures, shall be substituted "[See rule 11(1)(i)]”.PART IV-A ] GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX., 04-11-2025 154-5 13. In the said rules, after the existing Annexure-A, the following Annexure-B, Annexure-C, Annexure-D and Annexure-E, shall be added, namely:- “[Annexure-B] [See rule 5(1)(i)] PROMOTION TO THE CADRE OF DISTRICT JUDGE (50%) FROM AMONGST THE SENIOR CIVIL JUDGES ON THE BASIS OF PRINCIPLE OF MERIT-CUM- SENIORITY AND PASSING A SUITABILITY TEST. The Judicial Officers, three times the number of notified vacancies shall be included in the zone for consideration. Components for judging suitability of the Judicial Officer for Promotion to the cadre of District Judge (50% Quota of Regular Promotion): Sr. Component of Suitability Test Marks No. 1. Written Test (Objective Type-MCQs) 100 The Written Test shall consist of 01 (One) Paper of 100 Marks, consisting of 100 Objective Type Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) of 01 Mark each, with subjects, duration, marking pattern, weightage, etc. as decided by the selection committee from time to time. 2. Examination and Evaluation of Annual Confidential Reports of the preceding five years. 20 3. Assessment of Average Disposal of preceding five years. 20 4. Evaluation of Quality of Judgements rendered by the Judicial Officer 40 Guidelines to submit the requisite Judgement will be decided by the Selection Committee from time to time. 5. Viva-voce Test 20 The Viva-voce Test will be conducted to assess the General Perceptions and awareness as also Communication Skills. The Regular Promotion Process shall be conducted in Four Phases as shown below: 1st Phase 1st Component Written Test (Objective Type - MCQs) [100 Marks] shall be conducted. To qualify in the Written Test, the PwBD category Judicial Officer shall have to secure 40% Marks and other Judicial Officers shall have to secure minimum 45% Marks 2nd Phase Next Two components i.e. Examination and Evaluation of Annual Confidential Reports of the preceding five years and Assessment of Average Disposal of preceding five years of the Officer concerned, will be considered and evaluated by the Selection Committee, of only those Judicial Officers who will qualify in the Written Test. 3rd Phase 4th Component - Evaluation of Quality of Judgements rendered by the Judicial Officer concerned will be considered, however, the requisite Judgements will be called for from only those Judicial Officers, who will secure Minimum 45% Marks in the Components of ACRs and Disposals. 4th Phase Last Component - The Viva-voce Test (20 Marks) shall be conducted of only those Judicial Officers who will secure Minimum 45% Marks in the Component of Evaluation of Quality of Judgements rendered by the Judicial Officer. The Judicial Officer shall have to secure Minimum 40% Marks (35% for the PwBD category Judicial Officer) in Viva-voce Test.154-6 GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX., 04-11-2025 [ PART IV-A ELIGIBILITY FOR PROMOTION: For being eligible to be included in the Select List, the Judicial Officer shall have to secure Aggregate of 50% (45% for the PwBD category Judicial Officer) in the Grand Total of all the above Five (05) Components.”. [Annexure-C] [See rule 5(1)(ii)] PROMOTION TO THE CADRE OF DISTRICT JUDGE (25%) BY PROMOTION THROUGH LIMITED DEPARTMENTAL COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION (LDCE) FROM AMONGST THE SENIOR CIVIL JUDGES STRICTLY ON THE BASIS OF MERIT. Sr. Component Marks No. 1. Main Written Examination (Descriptive Type) 200 i. The Main Written Examination (Descriptive Type) shall consist of 02 (Two) Papers each of 100 Marks with subjects, duration, marking pattern, weightage, etc. as decided by the selection committee from time to time. ii. The Judicial Officer has to secure Minimum 50% Marks (45% for PwBD Judicial Officer) in the Aggregate and Minimum 40% Marks, in individual paper in Main Written Examination for being eligible to be called for Viva-voce Test. 2. Viva-voce Test 50 The Judicial Officer has to secure minimum 40% Marks (35% for the PwBD category Judicial Officer) in Viva-voce Test for being eligible to be included in the Select List. PREPARATION OF SELECT LIST: The Select List shall be prepared on the basis of Aggregate Marks obtained by the eligible Officers in the Main Written Examination and Viva-voce Test. [Annexure-D] [See rule 6(i)] PROMOTION TO THE CADRE OF SENIOR CIVIL JUDGE (90%) FROM AMONGST THE CIVIL JUDGES ON THE BASIS OF PRINCIPLE OF MERIT-CUM-SENIORITY AND PASSING A SUITABILITY TEST The Judicial Officers, three times the number of notified vacancies shall be included in the zone for consideration. Components for judging suitability of the Judicial Officer for Promotion to the cadre of Senior Civil Judge (90% Quota of Regular Promotion) : Sr. Component Marks No. 1. Examination and Evaluation of Annual Confidential Reports of the preceding five years 20 2. Assessment of Average Disposal of preceding five years 20 3 Evaluation of Quality of Judgements rendered by the Judicial Officer 60 Guidelines to submit the requisite Judgement will be decided by the Selection Committee from time to time. ELIGIBILITY FOR PROMOTION: The Judicial Officer, who obtains Minimum 45% Marks in each Component and Aggregate of 50% (45% for the PwBD category Judicial Officer) in the Grand Total of all the Components, shall be eligible for being included in the Select List for promotion.PART IV-A ] GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX., 04-11-2025 154-7 [Annexure-E] [See rule 6(ii)] PROMOTION TO THE CADRE OF SENIOR CIVIL JUDGE (10%) BY PROMOTION THROUGH LIMITED DEPARTMENTAL COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION (LDCE) FROM AMONGST THE CIVIL JUDGES STRICTLY ON THE BASIS OF MERIT. Sr. Component Marks No. 1. Main Written Examination (Descriptive Type) 200 (i) The Main Written Examination (Descriptive Type) shall consist of 02 (Two) Papers each of 100 Marks with subjects, duration, marking pattern, weightage, etc. as decided by the selection committee from time to time. (ii) The Judicial Officer has to secure minimum 50% Marks (45% for PwBD Judicial officer) in the Aggregate and Minimum 40% Marks, in individual paper in Main Written Examination for being eligible to be called for Viva-Voce Test. 2. Viva-voce Test 50 The Judicial Officer has to secure minimum 40% Marks (35% for PwBD category Judicial Officer) in Viva-voce Test for being eligible to be included in the Select List. PREPARATION OF SELECT LIST : The Select List shall be prepared on the basis of Aggregate Marks obtained by the eligible Officers in the Main Written Examination and Viva-voce Test. By order and in the name of the Governor of Gujarat, H. H. VARMA, Joint Secretary to Government. ------------ Government Central Press, Gandhinagar.