State of Bihar v Bal Mukund Sah
Rule established
Articles 233 and 234 constitute a special and self-contained scheme for recruitment to the judicial service, requiring the participation of the High Court. A general State law on recruitment to public services cannot displace that scheme, so reservation in the judicial service must be effected through rules framed in consultation with the High Court.
Facts
- The State of Bihar had enacted general legislation providing for reservation in appointments to the public services of the State.
- The State sought to apply that legislation directly to recruitment to posts in the judicial service, including posts of district judge and of judicial officers below that rank.
- No rules had been framed for the judicial service in consultation with the High Court as Art.234 requires, nor had the High Court been consulted in the manner Art.233 requires for district judges.
- The High Court's advertisements and selection process were affected by the application of the general statute.
- Candidates challenged the exercise on the ground that the constitutional scheme for judicial recruitment had been bypassed.
- The State contended that its legislative competence over public services extended to the judicial service, which is a service of the State.
Issue
- Whether a general State law on recruitment to public services can govern appointments to the judicial service so as to displace the procedure in Arts.233 and 234.
Held
- It cannot. The Court held that Arts.233 and 234, read with Arts.235 and 236, form a special, complete and self-contained scheme for the constitution and staffing of the subordinate judiciary, and that scheme deliberately places the High Court at the centre of the process. A general enactment relating to public services operates in the wider field but must yield to the special provisions where the judicial service is concerned. The Court did not deny the State's competence to provide for reservation in the judicial service; it held that any such provision must be given effect through rules made in accordance with the constitutional scheme, that is, in consultation with the High Court, and not by the unilateral application of a general statute.
Ratio Decidendi
Where the Constitution has laid down a particular procedure for a particular class of appointments, that procedure is the measure of the power, and a legislature cannot achieve the same end by a route the Constitution has not provided. The requirement of High Court participation is not a matter of administrative convenience but a guarantee of the independence and quality of the judiciary, so its omission is a substantive and not a formal defect. The principle that a special provision prevails over a general one applies with added force where the special provision protects a constitutional value.
How to use it in an exam
- Cite it for the proposition that Arts.233 and 234 are a special self-contained scheme which a general service law cannot displace.
- Be precise about what was held: reservation in the judicial service is not forbidden, but the route matters, and it must pass through rules framed in consultation with the High Court.
- Read with Chandra Mohan v State of UP 1966, which established the mandatory character of consultation under Art.233, and with All India Judges Association v Union of India 2002 on the structure of recruitment.
- Use it in problems where a State applies a general recruitment or reservation statute to judicial posts, which is a common fact pattern.
- Note the contrast with the general service provisions in Arts.309 to 311, which govern the rest of the State services and from which the judicial service is thus carved out.
Source
Source: (2000) 4 SCC 640; AIR 2000 SC 1296; Constitution Bench of five Judges; leading authority on the special character of Arts.233 and 234 as against general service law; citation and bench checked against Indian Kanoon and reported sources, audit of 12 August 2026
This is an educational summary, not the judgment itself. Cite the reported version in professional or academic work.