On 19 February 2026, the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, acting in consultation with the High Court of Delhi, issued a fresh notification — F.No. 1/37/2024-Judl./586-591 — amending the Delhi Higher Judicial Service Rules, 1970. A corrigendum followed on 10 March 2026. The consolidated text “as on 19.02.2026” is now hosted on the Delhi High Court website and is the operative document for every aspirant of the Delhi Higher Judicial Service (DHJS).
The amendment is not cosmetic. It introduces a new Rule 5A formalising the Selection Committee, reworks the marks scheme for merit-cum-seniority promotions, and substitutes the cadre roster to enlarge the upper tiers of the service. For Bar candidates targeting direct recruitment, and for Delhi Judicial Service officers eyeing promotion, this is a structural shift that deserves a careful read. If you need a one-on-one walkthrough by our Delhi-judiciary mentors, call 7033005444.
Why the DHJS Rules matter
The DHJS is the senior tier of the Delhi judiciary. It is the rung from which District & Sessions Judges, Principal Judges, and ultimately several Delhi High Court judges are drawn. There are two streams of entry:
- Direct recruitment from the Bar: Advocates with seven years of continuous practice on the date of application, selected through the Delhi Higher Judicial Service Examination conducted by the High Court of Delhi.
- Promotion from the Delhi Judicial Service: 50% on the basis of merit-cum-seniority and suitability, and 10% on the basis of a limited departmental competitive examination, with the remaining 40% reserved for the direct recruitment quota.
The 1970 Rules — drafted under Article 233 of the Constitution read with the Delhi Reorganisation Act — set the eligibility, method, and scheme. Every aspirant who has prepared with our Delhi Judicial Service 2026 strategy guide already knows the architecture. What is new is the joint that now connects the two streams.
Rule 5A: a formal Selection Committee
Before the 2026 amendment, the assessment of DJS officers for promotion to DHJS by merit-cum-seniority operated under an informal committee practice referenced in earlier circulars. Rule 5A now codifies that body. The text inserts a Selection Committee constituted by the High Court of Delhi, charged with:
- Examining the service records of DJS officers eligible by length of service.
- Scoring each officer against the four-component matrix (judgments, ACRs, disposal, viva).
- Recommending a panel of names to the Full Court for appointment.
Codification matters for two reasons. First, it brings the DHJS in line with the All India Judges Association line of judgments — from All India Judges Association v. Union of India (1992) onwards — which has consistently asked High Courts to standardise objective markers in judicial promotions. Second, it survives judicial review better than a circular: any officer aggrieved by non-selection now has a clear rule to anchor a challenge, and the Court has a clear rule to defend.
The new 35-25-10 marks scheme
The biggest substantive change is the reweighting of the merit-cum-seniority assessment. Under the amended rules, every eligible DJS officer is scored on:
| Component | Window | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Updated knowledge of law — analysis of judgments delivered by the officer | Preceding 3 years | 35 |
| Annual Confidential Reports | Preceding 5 years | 25 |
| Disposal rate | Preceding 5 years | 10 |
| Viva voce | — | 30 (residual) |
The signal is unmistakable. Promotion to DHJS now turns on what an officer has actually written and cleared, not merely on the seniority list and a generalist viva. The 35 marks for “updated knowledge of law” are awarded after the Selection Committee reads a sample of the officer’s recent judgments — a hard, evidence-anchored test of legal reasoning. The 10-mark disposal head answers the long-standing critique that Indian judges optimise for delicate craftsmanship at the cost of throughput.
For aspirants currently in the DJS or planning to enter via Bar, the lesson translates immediately: write well, decide on time. The two are now scored together.
The new roster: 35% Selection Grade, 15% Super Time Scale
The 2026 amendment substitutes the schedule that fixes how the DHJS cadre is internally graded. With effect from 01 January 2020 — yes, the amendment is retrospective for roster purposes — the proportions are:
- Selection Grade: increased from 25% to 35% of the cadre.
- Super Time Scale: increased from 10% to 15%.
- Time Scale (entry & junior): correspondingly reduced.
This is consistent with the Second National Judicial Pay Commission (Justice P.V. Reddi) recommendations, accepted in All India Judges Association v. Union of India (2022). The High Court is, in effect, implementing the cadre-strength side of those recommendations.
For practical purposes, every DHJS officer with five-plus years in the service now has a higher probability of being placed in Selection Grade earlier than before. The fiscal and career consequences over a 20-year horizon are significant.
Seniority of LDCE-promoted officers
A subtler change concerns the inter se seniority of officers promoted to DHJS through the 10% Limited Departmental Competitive Examination. Under the amendment, their seniority is fixed by the merit position in the LDCE itself — not, as some earlier readings suggested, by their length of service in DJS. This converts the LDCE from a mere eligibility filter into a permanent ordering mechanism.
For DJS officers, the implication is direct: a strong LDCE score now buys not just a DHJS post but a better seniority slot within DHJS. The exam is worth the effort it asks.
How direct-recruit aspirants from the Bar should read the amendment
Direct recruitment from the Bar is governed by Rules 7-10 of the 1970 Rules (unchanged) and by the scheme of the DHJS Examination — Preliminary, Mains, and Viva Voce — conducted by the Delhi High Court. The 2026 amendment does not alter the syllabus or scheme of that examination. What it does alter is the service one is preparing to join.
Two takeaways:
- Promotion prospects look better. The roster expansion means more Selection Grade and Super Time Scale slots. Entrants from the Bar can expect to reach those tiers faster than the pre-2026 trajectory.
- Performance expectations are higher. Once inside, judgment quality and disposal rate are scored — not merely observed. Bar aspirants should treat the practice years before joining as training for measurable output, not free-flowing advocacy.
Where the rule sits in the larger reform arc
The 2026 amendment is part of a wave. The Delhi Judicial Service Rules 1970 themselves were updated on 09 February 2026, ten days before the DHJS amendment. Other High Courts are moving in parallel:
- Allahabad High Court has restructured the U.P. Higher Judicial Service rules in 2024-25.
- Bombay High Court has revised its Higher Judicial Service scheme with effect from 2025.
- Madras High Court issued amendments aligning Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service with the Second NJPC.
The cumulative effect is that the senior tier of the subordinate judiciary across India is being professionalised in marks-anchored terms. For exam aspirants, the comparative reading of these rules is now a Mains-grade essay topic in any judiciary examination. We have curated the most-asked landmark cases on judicial recruitment in our Top 25 Supreme Court Judgments for Judiciary 2026 compendium.
Reading the rule book: what to actually do this week
- Download the consolidated DHJS Rules “as on 19.02.2026” directly from delhihighcourt.nic.in. Do not read summaries on private portals as a substitute.
- Read the corrigendum dated 10 March 2026 — it has clarifying language on the roster effective date.
- Map each of the four assessment heads (judgments / ACRs / disposal / viva) to the kind of evidence the Selection Committee will look for. For Mains essays, this becomes the spine of any answer on judicial accountability.
- Pair the DHJS amendment with the DJS Rules amendment of 09.02.2026 — both must be read together to understand the new pipeline.
- If you are a Bar candidate planning to apply at the next DHJS Examination cycle, file your seven-year practice certificate now; the cycle is expected by the High Court within 2026-27.
Free 10-MCQ drill on the DHJS Amendment Rules 2026
[cg_quiz id=”dhjs-amendment-rules-2026″ title=”DHJS Amendment Rules 2026 — Comprehension Drill” questions='[
{“q”:”The Delhi Higher Judicial Service (Amendment) Rules 2026 were notified on:”,”options”:[“09 February 2026″,”19 February 2026″,”10 March 2026″,”23 February 2026″],”answer”:1,”explanation”:”Notification F.No. 1/37/2024-Judl./586-591 dated 19 February 2026 issued by the Lt. Governor of NCT of Delhi.”},
{“q”:”The amendment was issued by:”,”options”:[“The President of India”,”The Chief Justice of India”,”The Lt. Governor of NCT of Delhi in consultation with the High Court of Delhi”,”The Union Ministry of Law and Justice”],”answer”:2,”explanation”:”The rule-making authority for DHJS is the Lt. Governor under Article 233, in consultation with the High Court of Delhi.”},
{“q”:”The newly inserted Rule 5A deals with:”,”options”:[“Eligibility from the Bar”,”The Selection Committee”,”Probation period”,”Pay scales”],”answer”:1,”explanation”:”Rule 5A formalises the Selection Committee charged with screening DJS officers for DHJS promotion.”},
{“q”:”Under the amended scheme, marks for analysis of judgments delivered by the officer are awarded based on the preceding:”,”options”:[“1 year”,”3 years”,”5 years”,”10 years”],”answer”:1,”explanation”:”35 marks for updated knowledge of law assessed via judgments of the preceding three years.”},
{“q”:”ACRs are read for the preceding:”,”options”:[“3 years”,”5 years”,”7 years”,”10 years”],”answer”:1,”explanation”:”25 marks are anchored to Annual Confidential Reports of the preceding five years.”},
{“q”:”The disposal-rate head is worth:”,”options”:[“5 marks”,”10 marks”,”15 marks”,”25 marks”],”answer”:1,”explanation”:”10 marks for disposal rate over the preceding five years — a measurable throughput test.”},
{“q”:”The substituted roster increases Selection Grade posts from:”,”options”:[“10% to 15%”,”15% to 25%”,”25% to 35%”,”35% to 50%”],”answer”:2,”explanation”:”Selection Grade rises from 25% to 35% of cadre strength.”},
{“q”:”The Super Time Scale share is now:”,”options”:[“10%”,”15%”,”20%”,”25%”],”answer”:1,”explanation”:”Super Time Scale rises from 10% to 15%.”},
{“q”:”The roster changes take effect from:”,”options”:[“19 February 2026″,”01 January 2020″,”09 February 2026″,”10 March 2026″],”answer”:1,”explanation”:”Retrospective effect for roster purposes: 01 January 2020.”},
{“q”:”Inter se seniority of LDCE-promoted DHJS officers is determined by:”,”options”:[“Date of joining DJS”,”Date of joining DHJS”,”Merit in the LDCE”,”ACRs”],”answer”:2,”explanation”:”Seniority is fixed by merit position in the LDCE itself, not length of service in DJS.”}
]’]
Final word
Most rule amendments slip past aspirants because they look administrative. The DHJS Amendment Rules 2026 do not. They redraw the architecture of the senior Delhi judiciary, redefine what “merit” means inside that service, and create a brighter promotion corridor for entrants from the Bar. Read the rule, read the corrigendum, and let the implications shape both your exam preparation and the years that follow. Our Delhi-judiciary team is on the line at 7033005444 for any reading-room clarification.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find the official text of the amendment?
The consolidated DHJS Rules “as on 19.02.2026” and the 10.03.2026 corrigendum are hosted under Notifications & Practice Directions on delhihighcourt.nic.in. The gazette version is also published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
Does the amendment change the syllabus for the DHJS direct-recruitment exam?
No. The syllabus and scheme of the DHJS Examination conducted by the High Court of Delhi remain unchanged. The amendment governs the service one is entering, not the entrance test.
Is Rule 5A judicially reviewable?
Yes. Any aggrieved officer can challenge a Selection Committee recommendation on the grounds of non-compliance with the four-component matrix or procedural irregularity — Article 226 jurisdiction of the High Court of Delhi is preserved.
How does the amendment affect DJS officers currently in service?
DJS officers in the eligibility window for DHJS promotion should now actively curate copies of significant judgments delivered in the preceding three years and monitor their disposal statistics. These are no longer collateral data — they are directly scored.
When is the next DHJS direct-recruitment exam expected?
The High Court of Delhi has historically conducted DHJS Examinations on an as-needed basis. Aspirants should monitor the Public Notices section of delhihighcourt.nic.in for the next advertisement.
Sources: Delhi High Court official portal (delhihighcourt.nic.in); Notification F.No. 1/37/2024-Judl./586-591 dated 19 February 2026; Corrigendum F.No. 1/37/2024-Judl./916-921 dated 10 March 2026; Gazette of India Extraordinary.
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