India, Oct. 29 -- Expressing concern over the slow and uneven career progression of entry-level judicial officers across India, the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday began the hearing on framing uniform, nationwide criteria for determining seniority in the Higher Judicial Service (HJS) cadre. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by the Chief Justice.

BR Gavai took note of the situation that "in most of the states, judicial officers recruited as Civil Judge (CJ) often do not reach the level of Principal District Judge (PDJ), leave aside reaching the position of a High Court Judge. This has resulted in many bright young lawyers being dissuaded from joining the service at the level of CJ".

On October 14, the bench, also comprising justices S...