New Delhi, Sep 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the mandatory requirement of three years’ practice at the bar for direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) in Delhi.
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia sought responses from the Union government, the Delhi government, and the Directorate of Prosecution on the plea filed by Bhumika Trust through advocate Jayant Singh Raghav.
The petition challenges the three-year Bar experience condition prescribed under the Directorate of Prosecution, Government of NCT of Delhi, Assistant Public Prosecutor Recruitment Rules, 2025, notified on January 19, 2026.
The petitioner contends that the requirement excludes otherwise qualified law graduates and newly enrolled advocates from even participating in the recruitment process solely because they have not completed three years of practice at the Bar.
The petition argues that while professional competence and preparedness are legitimate objectives for recruitment to prosecutorial posts, three years of prior Bar practice cannot necessarily be treated as the only means of achieving those objectives. It contends that less exclusionary mechanisms, including structured induction training, probation, practical attachments and supervised prosecutorial training, could be considered to ensure professional preparedness.
The plea states that "an eligibility criterion which completely excludes an otherwise professionally qualified class from even participating in a competitive selection process" must withstand scrutiny under the constitutional guarantees of equality and equality of opportunity in public employment.
According to the plea, the Supreme Court, in its judgment in Ayush Yardi v. State of Madhya Pradesh, held that additional requirements relating to three years’ practice at the Bar or securing the prescribed marks in the first attempt could not operate against candidates with disabilities and struck down the requirements qua PwD candidates. The petition also refers to the Supreme Court's subsequent judgment in Bhumika Trust v. Union of India, which modified its earlier directions prescribing three years' practice for recruitment to the Civil Judge (Junior Division) cadre.
The petitioner has submitted that the Supreme Court's modified framework demonstrates that professional preparedness for legal and judicial public office can also be achieved through structured institutional training and practical exposure, rather than exclusively through a fixed period of prior Bar practice.
The petitioner has also cited recruitment practices in other states, referring to recruitment for Assistant District Attorney posts in Haryana and Assistant Prosecution Officer posts in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, where three years’ prior practice at the Bar was not prescribed as an essential eligibility condition.
The petition contends that these recruitment models demonstrate the existence of alternative approaches to entry-level prosecutorial recruitment.
The plea has also raised concerns regarding candidates with disabilities, particularly in view of the eight vacancies reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities in the ongoing Delhi APP recruitment. It submits that reservation by itself may not ensure substantive equality if an antecedent eligibility condition unjustifiably excludes otherwise qualified candidates from entering the zone of consideration.
The petitioner has sought a declaration that the three-year practice requirement for direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Public Prosecutor is unconstitutional and arbitrary. It has also sought interim protection in relation to the ongoing recruitment, including a direction to provisionally permit otherwise educationally qualified candidates to submit applications and participate in the selection process, subject to the final outcome of the PIL.
Source: IANS
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