To become a judge, you need to get selected through the Judicial Services exam for the specific state.
You need to have a BCI approved LLB degree as the basic eligibility criteria.
An LLM degree is not mandatory for the Judicial Services exam.
However, I would recommend pursuing an LLM or any other qualification of your choice as a plan ‘B’. See my rationale below.
This part is adapted from my answer to a similar question.
Not Mandatory . . . but why not ? Consider the following points :
Why LLM ?
If you have chosen law as your career, an LLM is always helpful.
Either for enhancing your knowledge, for specializing in a particular area or even just for adding an additional degree after your name to impress prospective clients or employers.
An LLM is a one / two year commitment and is almost a sure-shot thing; as long as you put in the minimum required effort, you will get your degree.
The Judicial Services exam . . .
The Judicial Services is a ‘high demand’ career option in India. Depending on the specific state, the role to applicant ratio can be anywhere in the range of 1 : 1000 or higher.
Not every candidate get through in the first attempt, many of them have multiple attempts.
Considering that the Judicial Services exam is a mix of objective and subjective papers + personal interview - I would suggest a 6 to 8 month prep period.
Syllabus for the Judicial Service exams . . .
The Judicial Services syllabus is predominantly based on the standard LLB syllabus; and will also include some state level laws.
What will you study in LLM ?
Since Law will be your subject in the Judicial Service Exams, your LLM course will not be a totally different direction.
You will be focusing on one or more of the Law subjects in your LLM course, which will only add to and help in your preparation.
How do I balance the time required for LLM and Judicial Services prep ?
Think of the LLM as a subset of your Judicial Services prep.
Personally, I have seen that we often are at our peak efficiency when our schedules are tightly packed.
We tend to get work done faster and more efficiently - if we are running against a deadline, with some pressure.
How to prioritize ?
Consider various factors, such as :
What is your current age; and considering the age limits for Judicial services, how much of a leeway do you have ?
Where do you realistically see yourself in terms of your ability to crack the Judicial Services ?
Dear student, there is no rule in India that only a candidate studied from government law colleges can practice in a court of law. You can definitely become a judge in any court in India after you have the required expertise, after pursuing LLB from a private college. The only requirement is that it must not be a distance education college, and must be recognised by Bar Council of India.
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