This article has been written by Abhishek Tiwari, a student of Chanakya National Law University.

So, we all live in India where this dream of having a government job is embedded in the mind of a student from the very beginning. Every middle-class parent in this country wants his/her child to be a SARKARI AFSAR. Therefore, in the pursuit of fulfilling the dreams of their parents, millions of students have become aspirants of different government exams. You may be one of them that is why you are reading this article. Law students in this country are luckily blessed with something other than the web of UPSC through which they can fulfil their dreams without being entangled. This something is nothing but the Judicial Services Examination. Every law student at least once thinks about joining the judicial services as this is considered to be the best path for a law student.

Now that you have decided to be a government official, you may have faced the dilemma of joining it through UPSC or Judiciary. This article is written after exploring the life of officials from both the arenas. 

The answer which will help you to choose between both the services can be both moral/ethical or practical in nature. Morally if you say, this nation needs great legal minds for protecting the system of Justice. If these great minds like yours will think of not joining the judicial services, then who else will. This is not a generalised job like that of executive officers instead it requires special knowledge of law. Those engineer guys will not come to save the Justice system of the country if you will go and join the administration. So, think as a responsible citizen of this country. You as a law student owe this to your country.   

Now, if we talk about the practical aspect i.e. the benefits of joining judicial services- they are endless. Different thoughts which come up in the mind of a law student regarding both the services are discussed in this article. I am sure that after reading this article all your dilemmas will be solved. 

Thoughts against Judiciary (Resolved)

Judicial services are state services and they are not as rewarding as All India Services like IAS  

First of all, let us make it clear that there are only three services which are considered as All India Services i.e. Indian Administrative Service [IAS], Indian Police Service [IPS] and Indian Forest Service [IFS]. The officers of these services are allotted a state [called as cadre state] and have to work under that state government only. More than 75% of you have been thinking of UPSC because of these three services. Now, looking at it from the perspective of working under a state government, you now have no reason to think of it before judicial services. In other services called central services, the officers are not allotted any state in particular and can be transferred from one part of the country to another for working under a particular department.

Taking this point forward, you might be aware of the difficulty which an executive officer faces in getting a cadre of his home state. Everyone wants to be in his own home state. Ask yourself, whether you want to spend the rest of your life working in a state whose language and people are unknown to you or with your own people and in your own state. Despite this fact, if you want to live away from your family then it is your wish. So, now think on it, if judicial service is giving you this opportunity of serving your own state, then why not grab it.

The next thing which comes into your mind is then why not join the state PCS services

Now you are getting distracted, we are here to choose the better among the best and for that we are discussing different viewpoints. So, if you find something which is there in these services and is also in some other government job, then don’t start comparing them. Please read the whole article and then form an opinion. Let me answer your question – You might have heard of the political interference and disrespect which civil servants have to face from the illiterate politicians. So, in a comparative state, you might be surprised to know that most of the PCS officers have to act as a mere puppet of the local political leaders. I don’t think that a law student whose strength is his attitude developed with the rigorous legal studies will be able to do that. Also, in PCS you will always be subordinate to the respective IAS officers of the district and will have to follow orders. So, I don’t feel that you should even think of it.

Judicial officers do not enjoy the facilities which a UPSC officer enjoys 

If being a law student you are thinking like this then you must be naive and do not actually know what a public service is. Before getting into any of these exams which have cut-throat competition, it is always suggested that you must have a strong reason to serve. If you are even thinking of entering into the executive services considering the comparison graph of facilities then you are bound to fail. Despite this flowery explanation, you might be wondering about the practical aspect. So here it is – Apart from an IAS officer (posted as a D.M.), you cannot say that the judicial officers enjoy less facilities than the other officers. And believe me, if you want to live a prosperous life in a country like India, judicial services will not let you down.

Judicial officers have very restricted power when compared to an IAS

Let us understand what power is. You might be seeing a D.M or a S.S.P. carrying out his duties in the public. They do jobs assigned to them by the government and ultimately act as their agents. On the other hand, most of the people who have not faced any court related matters and have not come across a judicial officer. To get a hint of the power of a judicial officer, ask someone who is stuck in some matter.

We need to understand that the executive and judiciary have two completely different roles to play in the society. There is no point in comparing their powers. Both are the best of the services in their own domain. It is up to you to decide which is best for you. And then also, if you want to have a comparison of the protocol then compare the top officials of the respective fields. At the district level, a District Judge (DJ) is always considered superior to the District Magistrate (D.M.). At the topmost level, Chief Justice of India is always considered superior to the Cabinet Secretary. Now, you might have got your answer. Remember, we are comparing the best considered service of the UPSC i.e. IAS with that of entire judicial services. If we talk about the rest of them, then they stand nowhere in this comparison. 

Judicial officers have a monotonous job while UPSC officers enjoy a diversified career 

First of all, you are not well versed with the kind of work a judicial officer has to do. It is not that he always has to give judgements and nothing more. Many times judicial officers have to for inspection to jail and to lower courts. Also, they can monitor the working of any department if a suit is filed. There are many things which a judge has to do. Making life monotonous is something which depends on a particular. If you do not agree then look around in your college (considered as the liveliest part of anyone’s life), you will find some people are enjoying to the fullest and some are living a dull life. It all depends on you.

This is not even a factor to be considered because the type of service has nothing to do with it. The next thing is you need to understand that most of the services of the UPSC have jobs of clerical nature i.e. they have to move files and give approvals. Their whole life gets passed working for a single department at different posts under political pressure. Think and now tell that this is very exciting. We cannot consider the 18% of the UPSC service (I.A.S.) as the entire service. These all are A-class services and have their advantages and disadvantages. But the main point is that if we start comparing, then judicial services are not behind.

Thoughts in favour of Judiciary

Judicial officers enjoy independence

As a law student you might have done some internship at a civil or criminal court. You might have witnessed a judge handling different cases. You should have noticed that he/she is the sole governing authority of his court. No one can influence his/her decision. The Indian Constitution protects the citizens from any partial judgment. Due to this, the judiciary of the country is an independent body. The courts of India are not controlled by the government and do not represent any political authority.  This means that judicial officers enjoy freedom which the executive officers don’t. You might have heard news of clashes between local political leaders and the administrative officers. Political leaders can humiliate these officers, but such a thing cannot happen with judicial officers. If anyone tries to do so, he/she may be charged with contempt of court and will be punished accordingly. Many times these executive officers have to let go of their self-respect and serve political leaders. This never happens with the judges. 

So, you decide don’t you want freedom for your entire life? 

Judicial services are easier to crack

Now that we are comparing everything, this becomes the most important aspect. We can discuss these advantages or disadvantages as long as we can, but they will be of no use if we can’t crack the service. So, before you take your first step in any direction let us go by simple mathematics. In UPSC around 1 million aspirants sit for the exam competing for 1000 seats. On the other hand, in judiciary in the state with the maximum competition i.e. UP only 64691 candidates appeared for more than 600 seats. Not only this, your probability increases even more when you apply for more than one state.  If you are a serious aspirant, then you will definitely get through the exam in one or two attempts. But this is not the case with UPSC. This is because of the fact that only law aspirants can appear for the judicial services exams, as the job is of specialised nature. It is not so in administrative services where anyone and everyone gives a shot. Aspirants from all throughout the country fight for the limited number of seats. It is not that you need to get demotivated reading this article, it is just that you need to be aware of the realities. We all have heard stories of serious aspirants failing for 6 years and then getting depressed. Simple maths says that 99.99% of the UPSC aspirants will never get through the exam. So, let me tell you the bitter truth to all law aspirants. If you have this chance of saving your life from this gamble and then also fulfilling your dream of public service- Go Grab It!!!

Judicial services provide you a peaceful life 

You all might have heard the quote,” Power comes with responsibilities”. Before just looking at the bright side of the life of an IAS officer, aspirants need to know what these officers face. Pressure is what drives their lives. You may have heard about the suicides which IAS officers have committed. No such news has ever come about the judicial officers. Why do you think someone having your dream job and the life you desire has thought of killing himself. The answer lies in the nature of the job. As a district magistrate an IAS officer has to take care of everything going on in the district. Also, the political pressure sometimes interrupts. If there is a fire in the district, if some serious crime is committed and any other wrong has been committed the administrative officers are having the onus to take care of it. On the other hand, you being a judicial officer will act as the final decision giving body which will function as per its own wish.

You will serve the people but in your own way. You will give them justice which will not be driven by pressure due to the independent nature of the judiciary. This provides peace. The point is not that which one is good, that is up to the student to decide. Despite everything, no one can deny the fact that IAS officers are able to serve the society at large and are able to help a lot more people as compared to judicial officers. Judicial officers can help a limited number of people who appear in their court while an IAS can help anyone and everyone in the district. So, if you have that desire then you may choose your path accordingly. 

Conclusion

Judicial officers enjoy power throughout their life but an IAS officer remains D.M. for a limited number of years. If any person thinking of joining civil services looking at the prestige of a D.M. then they must know that they will be able to serve as a D.M. for a limited number of years in their entire career. On the other hand, a judge always remains a judge and his power continuously increases. If you are fascinated by the red/blue light on your car, then you must know that the administrative officers and politicians both are not allowed to put one, but a judicial officer can. If you want immense respect throughout your life then judicial services is the place to come. Even our ex-CJI T.S. Thakur addressing students of NALSAR has compared judges with God. He proudly claims that giving justice is the most divine job and can be done by some special persons only. So, what is taking you away from these services? Law students have an opportunity to serve the entire nation through this noble profession. Don’t just let it GO!!!!

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