Law graduates who obtained their degrees before 22 August 2025 have until 11:59 pm on 9 November 2026 to apply for Maharashtra's Civil Judge (Junior Division) and Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) recruitment, even without three years at the Bar. The extra window was opened by a Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) corrigendum dated 23 October 2026. The Bombay High Court has now refused to extend it to graduates of 2026.
The recruitment
MPSC issued Advertisement No. 013/2026 on 30 April 2026 for 286 posts in the combined Civil Judge (Junior Division) and JMFC cadre. The first application window ran from 1 to 21 May 2026, and applications were reopened from 8 July 2026. The preliminary examination, first fixed for 2 August 2026, was postponed, and MPSC has not yet announced a new date.
Selection has three stages: a qualifying preliminary paper of 100 objective questions, two descriptive main papers on civil and criminal law, and an interview. Only the main papers and the interview count towards the final merit list. The posts are at pay level J-1, with a starting basic pay of ₹77,840 a month.
What the corrigendum changed
The corrigendum follows the Supreme Court's judgment of 21 August 2026 in Bhumika Trust v. Union of India. In 2025, in All India Judges Association v. Union of India, the Court had restored the rule that candidates for Civil Judge (Junior Division) need three years of practice. Bhumika Trust kept that requirement but set a transitional arrangement. It splits the three years into a deemed first year of practice, a year of training at the Judicial Academy, and a year as a law clerk.
Applying that arrangement, MPSC allowed graduates whose law degrees were obtained before 22 August 2025 to apply, subject to the other eligibility conditions. It treats them, and other eligible candidates without three years of actual practice, as having completed one year of active practice. This group can apply from 26 October to 9 November 2026.
The High Court's ruling
Two advocates who graduated in 2026 and enrolled in June 2026 challenged the cut-off before the Bombay High Court. They argued that Bhumika Trust makes all law graduates eligible during the transitional period, and that MPSC had created an artificial class based on the date of the degree.
A Division Bench of Justices Sarang V. Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale dismissed both petitions in Satish Maulyawan Patole v. State of Maharashtra (2026:BHC-AS:45143-DB). It held that the Supreme Court's direction must be read as a whole. The deemed year of practice was given to candidates because a year had already passed since the 2025 judgment, not to every law graduate. The Bench also held that the Supreme Court's directions still require at least one year of actual practice, and found the corrigendum consistent with them.
What candidates should do
If you graduated in law before 22 August 2025 and have not yet applied, apply on MPSC's online portal before 11:59 pm on 9 November, and keep an eye on the fee-payment deadline in the corrigendum. Graduates of 2026 will have to wait for a later recruitment once they meet the practice requirement. Everyone who has applied should watch mpsc.gov.in for the new preliminary examination date.
Check every date against the corrigendum on the MPSC website before acting on it.