Arts route
Judge (state judicial services)
Sit on the bench and decide cases for a living — you can be a judge in your twenties by clearing a state exam, without ever joining a big law firm.
First question
What does this person do?
You are the judge in a courtroom, usually the lowest one, which is where most cases in India actually start and finish. As a civil judge you hear property disputes, rent cases, money-recovery suits and family matters. Sitting as a magistrate you handle the early stages of criminal cases, decide whether someone gets bail, and try the smaller offences yourself.
The day is mostly listening to two lawyers argue, reading the papers they have filed, recording what witnesses say, and then writing a judgment that explains your decision and that a higher court can overturn. You are a government servant with a fixed salary, your own courtroom and staff, and a transfer to a different district every few years. You are often the youngest person in the room and the one with the most power in it, and the rules expect you to keep a careful distance from the lawyers who appear before you.
Next question
What are they paid?
LPA = lakhs per annum; ₹1 lakh = ₹100,000. These are broad India market estimates across common employers and work settings—not guaranteed offers, audited statistics or the ceiling. References give context, not proof of each exact band. Historical anchors and evidence gaps remain in Sources.
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Entry first role
Estimated range₹12–18LPA
Broad India market estimate, not a guaranteed offer or audited statistic. State judicial pay scales and allowances differ by state and seniority.
Arts estimated midpoint at this rung: ₹5.6 LPA · midpoint median across 8 editorial Arts routes · compare all routes
Market reference: Department of Expenditure doe.gov.in Estimate dated
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Mid about 5 years in
Estimated range₹16–24LPA
Broad India market estimate, not a guaranteed offer or audited statistic. State judicial pay scales and allowances differ by state and seniority.
Arts estimated midpoint at this rung: ₹12 LPA · midpoint median across 8 editorial Arts routes · compare all routes
Market reference: Department of Expenditure doe.gov.in Estimate dated
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Senior about 10 years in
Estimated range₹20–32LPA
Broad India market estimate, not a guaranteed offer or audited statistic. State judicial pay scales and allowances differ by state and seniority.
Arts estimated midpoint at this rung: ₹22 LPA · midpoint median across 8 editorial Arts routes · compare all routes
Market reference: Department of Expenditure doe.gov.in Estimate dated
The vertical line marks the midpoint median of the editorial estimates for this stream. Published examples are excluded. Scale: ₹ lakhs per annum.
Hiring landscape
Who hires for this work?
Examples of large employers and institutions associated with this route in India:
- Delhi Judicial Service
- state judicial services
- district courts
- statutory tribunals after experience
Examples, not a ranking or a promise of a current vacancy. Hiring changes; check the employer’s own careers page.
What it takes to get in
- Entrance exam
- The state judicial service examination, run separately by each state — in Delhi it is the Delhi Judicial Service Examination, conducted by the Delhi High Court. Three stages: a preliminary objective paper, written mains papers, and an interview. You need an LLB, and since the Supreme Court's judgment of 20 May 2025 you must also have practised as an advocate for at least three years before you can sit for the entry-level post.
- Realistic cut-off
- Posts are advertised by each state's High Court in small batches and are contested by law graduates from across the country, so the odds at any single exam are long and most people who clear it have taken more than one attempt. The three-year practice requirement means you cannot sit for this straight out of law school; the earliest realistic age of joining is now the mid-twenties. The syllabus goes deep into civil and criminal procedure, evidence, contract, property and local state laws, and the mains papers include writing a judgment and translating between English and the state's language.
- How long
- 8 years
- Roughly what it costs
₹10–17 lakh
Roughly Rs 10-17 lakh for the five-year LLB at a national law university, or a few thousand rupees a year for the three-year LLB at Faculty of Law, Delhi University after any bachelor's degree. Exam fees are around Rs 1,000 or less per attempt. The larger real cost is the three years of practice you must complete first, when junior advocates earn very little.
Approximate, tuition only, excluding coaching and living costs unless the source text says otherwise.
- Can you switch out later?
- High before you join, low after. The LLB and the three years at the Bar count for everything else a law degree opens — litigation, in-house legal teams, UPSC, teaching law. Once you are a judicial officer, promotion is by seniority within the service and the salary, pension and security are hard to replace, so few people leave.
Delhi entry paths
These are the routes people in Delhi commonly take into this career. This is not a ranking of institutions and does not list cut-offs for any particular college.
- National Law University Delhi, which admits through AILET, and the other national law universities through CLAT — the five-year integrated LLB straight after class 12
- Faculty of Law, University of Delhi — the three-year LLB after any bachelor's degree, at very low fees, taught at Campus Law Centre and Law Centres I and II
- Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia — both the five-year integrated BA LLB and the three-year LLB
- Law schools affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University across Delhi
- Three years of practice in the Delhi district courts — Tis Hazari, Karkardooma, Saket, Rohini, Patiala House — or in the Delhi High Court, which the Supreme Court has now made a precondition for the entry-level post
- The Delhi Judicial Service Examination itself, conducted by the Delhi High Court; candidates commonly sit for neighbouring states' judicial service exams in the same years
How this compares
| Route | Entry | Mid | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychologist (BA/BSc Psychology via DU and CUET-UG) | ₹3.0–7.0 LPA | ₹6.0–15 LPA | ₹10–30 LPA |
| Designer (B.Des via NID / NIFT / UCEED) | ₹3.5–9.0 LPA | ₹7.0–18 LPA | ₹14–35 LPA |
| Civil Services Officer (UPSC — IAS, IPS, IFS and others) | ₹10–14 LPA | ₹14–20 LPA | ₹18–28 LPA |
| Judge (state judicial services) (this route) | ₹12–18 LPA | ₹16–24 LPA | ₹20–32 LPA |
| Corporate Lawyer (law firm associate) | ₹5.0–18 LPA | ₹10–35 LPA | ₹18–60 LPA |
Sources
- Government of India cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in · may be dated
2020-01-01: Report of the Second National Judicial Pay Commission (January 2020), Table I at para 13.1: the judicial pay matrix, Levels J-1 to J-7, with year-wise basic pay. J-1 Civil Judge (Junior Division) entry Rs 77,840; J-2 Rs 92,960; J-3 Rs 1,11,000; J-5 District Judge entry Rs 1,44,840. Also confirms dearness allowance continues at the rates prescribed by the central government. 2020-01-01: Historical published anchor for the entry rung; not validation of the displayed estimate: A judge's pay is fixed by rule, not negotiated. The Second National Judicial Pay Commission's pay matrix, accepted by the Supreme Court, puts a Civil Judge (Junior Division) at entry on Level J-1, basic pay Rs 77,840 a month. Dearness allowance is 60% of basic pay from 1 January 2026. Low end is basic plus DA only; high end adds house rent allowance at the metro rate. Many judicial officers are given official accommodation instead of HRA, and also get a car or transport allowance, a domestic help allowance and a pension — none of which is in these numbers. 2020-01-01: Historical published anchor for the mid rung; not validation of the displayed estimate: Around year 5 you are either still on Level J-1 with five annual increments behind you (basic Rs 87,620) or have been moved to Level J-2 on the first Assured Career Progression stage (basic Rs 92,960). Which one depends on your state High Court, so the rung is given as a band across both. Same DA and HRA arithmetic as the entry rung. 2020-01-01: Historical published anchor for the senior rung; not validation of the displayed estimate: Around year 10 the range runs from Level J-1 with ten increments (basic Rs 1,01,580) to Level J-3, which is the second ACP stage and also the entry grade of a Civil Judge (Senior Division) (basic Rs 1,11,000). Same DA and HRA arithmetic. Judges promoted into the District Judge cadre later go to Level J-5 (basic Rs 1,44,840) and above, but that is well past ten years for most officers. There is almost no spread between individuals at the same level — the spread comes from posting city and how fast a state promotes.
- Prime Minister of India www.pmindia.gov.in
2026-04-18: Union Cabinet raised dearness allowance to 60% of basic pay with effect from 1 January 2026, the rate used to convert basic pay into the figures on this page.
- LiveLaw www.livelaw.in
2025-05-20: Supreme Court judgment of 20 May 2025 in All India Judges Association v. Union of India restoring the minimum three years of practice as an advocate as a condition for appearing for Civil Judge (Junior Division) recruitment, applicable prospectively.
- Government of India cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in · may be dated
2015-11-19: Report of the Seventh Central Pay Commission — the house rent allowance rates used for the high end of each rung.
- Department of Expenditure doe.gov.in
2026-08-21: Broad India market estimate, not a guaranteed offer or audited statistic. State judicial pay scales and allowances differ by state and seniority.