LUCKNOW, Jan. 31 -- The UP government on Friday notified the Uttar Pradesh Judicial Services (Seventh Amendment), Rules, 2026, making it mandatory for candidates to have at least three years of legal practice on the date of the advertisement for the PCS-J (Provincial Civil Service-Judicial) recruitment. The state cabinet had on Thursday given approval to the amendment in the UP Judicial Services Rules mandating three years of legal practice for the PCS-J recruitment examination. The amendment also made a minimum one-year training mandatory for judicial officers before assuming regular court duties. The promotion of civil judge (junior division) to senior division will be made after completion of five years. The notification issued by principal secretary (appointment and personnel) M Devraj on Friday stated that the amendment in the UP Judicial Services Rules 2001 has been made in consultation with the UP Public Service Commission and Allahabad high court. The new rules are called - UP Judicial Services (Seventh Amendment) Rules, 2026, which will come into force at once, he said. According to the new rules, aspirants for judicial services must be Indian nationals and must be Bachelor of Law from a university established by law in Uttar Pradesh or any other recognised university in the country. The aspirant must be an advocate enrolled under the provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961, and entitled to practice in court. The legal practice shall be reckoned from the date of provisional enrollment/registration with the State Bar Council concerned. The candidate will be required to produce a legal practice certificate certifying regular practice at Bar by such authority and manner as may be notified from time to time. The candidate must possess knowledge of Hindi in Devanagari script. The judicial officer appointed to the service as civil judge (junior division) shall be required to undergo training during the period of probation at the Judicial Training and Research Institute, Lucknow, or elsewhere, for a minimum one year before assuming regular court duties or extended period as notified by the court. Promotion to the cadre of civil judge (senior division) shall be made by the court from among the members of the service who have completed five years' satisfactory service in the cadre of civil judge (junior division), keeping in view the existing vacancies in the cadre. The chief justice of the court will appoint a selection committee of three sitting judges of the court to consider the officers/civil judge (junior division) eligible for promotion as civil judge (senior division). Promotion to the post of civil judge (senior division) shall be made by selection on the basis of merit-cum-seniority, subject to the rule of reservation for persons with disabilities under the rule. The field of eligibility for promotion shall be confined to two times the number of vacancies to be filled in by promotion. Ten per cent of the posts in the cadre of civil judge (senior division) shall be reserved for promotion through a limited departmental competitive examination from civil judge (junior division) having not less than three years of service. The amendments are a move by UP government to align with recent guidelines issued by the Supreme Court....