Overview
- The Constitution bench declined a separate quota for Regular Promotees in the Higher Judicial Service, finding no countrywide pattern of disproportionate representation.
- The court said perceived discontentment or heartburn does not amount to a legal basis for creating a subclass within the cadre.
- Fixation in the Selection Grade and Super Time Scale will be governed by merit‑cum‑seniority within the HJS rather than length of service or performance in the lower judiciary.
- Seniority will follow an annual four‑point roster in the sequence of two Regular Promotees, one LDCE promotee, and one Direct Recruit, with belated appointees getting roster seniority only if the recruitment finished within that year and no later appointments occurred.
- States and Union Territories must amend service rules in consultation with their High Courts within three months, with the ruling issued in the long‑running AIJA matter initiated in 1989.