The Madhya Pradesh High Court had on April 1 upheld the rule in question, leading to the instant appeal before the apex court.
The High Court had reasoned the intent of the rule was quality-centric, so as to ensure that the best among the best are selected as judges. Further, the interest of litigants who approch courts for justice was far more important than the interest of individuals.
The High Court had lamented that the standards for the judiciary have remained stagnant for decades without any improvement, while in all other professions, the standards have gone up.
It had rejected the argument that the requirement was in violation of the right to equality before the law.
The batch of petitions before it had challenged the amendment to the Rule 7 of the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1994, which was notified last year.
Source: Barandbench
