Supreme Court Law Clerk: The Complete 2026 Clerkship Guide to Applications, Interviews and ₹80,000-a-Month Stipend
The written test, the interview and what the year actually involves, from former clerks.
At a glance
- Around a hundred clerks a year, selected by a two-part written test and an interview, serve one year in a judge's chambers at a stipend of ₹80,000 a month.
- Applications open in winter for a term beginning with the court's reopening in July; final-year students may apply.
- The work is research, case notes and drafting; the hours follow the court's calendar, not an office's.
NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court's Law Clerk-cum-Research Associate scheme is the most competitive entry-level position in Indian law: several thousand applicants for roughly a hundred places, a written test that most do not clear, and an interview before judges. It is also the most useful single year a young lawyer can spend before practice, according to the former clerks The Counsel spoke to for this guide, and the one about which the least reliable information circulates. What follows is the process as it stands for the 2026 cycle, and what the year is actually like.
"The clerkship is less about the law you know and more about the law you can find by Monday," a former clerk now in litigation practice said.
Eligibility
- Degree. A law degree — three-year or five-year — from an institution recognised by the Bar Council of India. Final-year students may apply and must graduate before joining.
- Age. An upper limit, generally around thirty, specified in each year's notification.
- Marks. The current scheme sets no minimum percentage, but judges see academic records and ask about them at interview.
- Enrolment. Not required. Clerks who are enrolled advocates suspend practice for the year.
The selection process
| Stage | What it involves | When |
|---|---|---|
| Online application | Form on the Supreme Court website with academic records, a statement of purpose and a writing sample in some years; application fee | Notification usually in winter; window of three to four weeks |
| Written test, Part I | Objective paper: multiple-choice questions on the Constitution, civil and criminal procedure, evidence, contract, property, limitation and recent Supreme Court judgments | Held at centres across the country in late winter or spring |
| Written test, Part II | Subjective paper, evaluated for candidates who clear Part I: analysis of a judgment or problem, précis writing and a short research note, testing clarity and structure under time | Same day as Part I |
| Interview | Panel of judges; questions on the candidate's writing, recent constitutional and commercial decisions, and the candidate's reasons for clerking | Late spring |
| Allocation | Judges select clerks from the merit list for their chambers; candidates may indicate preferences but allocation is the judges' | Before the July reopening |
Judges may also engage clerks on an ad hoc basis outside the scheme, usually on the recommendation of a law school or a former clerk; the numbers are small and the process informal.
Preparing for the test
- Read the last two years of major judgments — Constitution Bench decisions, the commercial and arbitration cases, the criminal procedure cases under the new codes. Part I draws on them directly; Part II and the interview assume familiarity.
- Practise précis. Reducing a forty-page judgment to a page of facts, issues, holding and reasoning, in an hour, is the core skill of the test and of the job.
- Know procedure. Civil and criminal procedure, limitation and the Supreme Court Rules account for more of Part I than candidates expect.
- Write plainly. Examiners and judges penalise ornament. Short sentences, headed paragraphs and a conclusion that answers the question.
- Have a reason. The interview's hardest question is why you want the year and what you will do after it. "Litigation" is an answer; "I want to see how judgments are made before I argue for them" is a better one.
The clerkship is less about the law you know and more about the law you can find by Monday.
A former Supreme Court law clerk, to The Counsel
What the year involves
- Case notes. For every matter listed before the judge — often forty or more on a miscellaneous day — a note summarising the facts, the orders below, the questions raised and the relevant law, prepared from the paper-book before the hearing.
- Research. Questions that arise in hearings, from a judge's query during argument to a point of comparative law for a judgment under preparation; answers are expected the same day or the next.
- Drafting. Depending on the judge, clerks prepare the narrative portions of judgments, check citations and quotations, and proofread. Clerks do not decide, and the reasoning is the judge's.
- Hours. Court sits from 10.30; the chamber works before and after. Vacations are shorter than they look, and vacation benches take clerks with them.
- Confidentiality. Everything in chambers is confidential, permanently. Former clerks do not discuss pending matters or the chamber's deliberations, and the undertaking signed at joining is enforced.
Stipend and terms
The stipend is a consolidated ₹80,000 a month, raised from ₹65,000 in 2023. There are no allowances, no accommodation and no benefits; the engagement is contractual, for one year from the start of the term, extendable by a further year at a judge's request, and is not employment or service for any purpose. Clerks are not paid for the period between selection and joining.
After the clerkship
Former clerks go in roughly equal numbers to litigation chambers, law firms, academia and graduate study abroad, where the clerkship is valued by admissions committees. The year's practical advantages are specific: the ability to read a paper-book fast, a working knowledge of the court's procedure and registry, and a view of how arguments land from the bench. Its reputational advantage depends on the judge and on the clerk's own later work; the title opens a first door, not the rest.
High Court clerkships
Most High Courts run research associate or law clerk schemes on similar lines, with stipends between ₹40,000 and ₹65,000 and selection by test and interview or by individual judges. The work is comparable, the competition lower, and for candidates intending to practise in a particular High Court the local clerkship can be the better choice.
Who is eligible to be a Supreme Court law clerk?
Law graduates from BCI-recognised institutions, including final-year students who graduate before joining, within the age limit set in each year's notification. There is no minimum marks requirement in the current scheme.
How are clerks selected?
Online application, a two-part written test — objective and subjective — and an interview before a panel of judges, after which judges select clerks for their chambers from the merit list. Judges may also engage clerks ad hoc.
What is the stipend?
A consolidated ₹80,000 a month for a one-year engagement, extendable by one year; not employment, with no allowances or benefits.
What does a law clerk do?
Case notes for every listed matter, research during hearings, assistance with drafting and proofreading judgments, and maintenance of the chamber's research files, following the court's calendar.
The Counsel will publish the 2026-27 notification and dates when the court releases them. Candidates should rely on the notification on the Supreme Court website for eligibility, fees and dates, which change from year to year.
This report is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult a qualified lawyer about their own circumstances. Case citations are to The Counsel Reports (TCR) unless otherwise stated.