New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) The Supreme Court Wednesday sought response from the Andhra Pradesh government on a plea challenging the condition which mandates three years of practice as an advocate to be eligible for appearing in exam for appointment as civil judge in the state.

A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Aniruddha Bose also issued notice to the Registrar (recruitment) of the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking reply on the petition which has also challenged the December 3 notification inviting applications for appointment to the post of civil judge (junior division) in the Andhra Pradesh State Judicial Service.

The apex court was hearing a petition filed by R Venkatesh who has challenged the December 3 notification and questioned the eligibility requirement of three-year practice as an advocate.

The petitioner has also challenged Rule 5(2)(a)(i) of the Andhra Pradesh State Judicial Service Rules 2007, which was notified/amended by the state government on July 28, 2017 and mandates three years of practice as an advocate to be eligible for appointment to the category of civil judge.

“The petitioner has, in the writ petition, also challenged Rule 5(2)(a)(i) of Andhra Pradesh State Judicial Service Rules, 2007 notified/amended by the respondent No. 1 (state of Andhra Pradesh) on July 28, 2017. There is no such urgency to entertain this writ petition in the vacation. Notice be issued to the respondents in the meanwhile. Let the writ petition be listed for hearing on Tuesday, the 5th January, 2021,” the bench said in its order.

The December 3 notification, which has invited application for general recruitment to the post of civil judge (junior division), has said that recruitment process shall be governed by Andhra Pradesh State Judicial (Service and Cadre) Rules 2007.

During the hearing conducted through video-conferencing, the petitioner's counsel told the court that as per the December 3 notification, the last date for submission of online application was January 2.

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