JHALSA Permanent Lok Adalat Chairman Recruitment 2026

JHALSA Permanent Lok Adalat Chairman Recruitment 2026: Overview

The Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority (JHALSA) is looking for judges to head the Permanent Lok Adalats (PLA) in Chatra, Dhanbad, Gumla, Jamshedpur, Palamau, Sahibganj and Seraikella. The Chairman seat in each of these seven district benches is lying vacant, and JHALSA has put out one common notice from its Nyaya Sadan office in Ranchi to fill them.

This drive is meant for senior judicial officers. Retired Principal District Judges and District Judges can apply, and so can serving judges who retire on or before 31 December 2026. It is a fixed-term engagement, not a regular post — instead of a pay scale, you get a monthly fee linked to your last drawn salary plus a conveyance allowance under the Permanent Lok Adalat rules amended in 2025.

If you have spent your career on the bench, have a clean service record and want to keep serving through dispute settlement after retirement, this notice is worth a close look.

Service Conditions and Caveats

• Term of office: You hold office for five years or until you turn 65, whichever comes first.
• Clean record: You must have no adverse remark in your service record.
• Compulsory retirement bar: Judges compulsorily retired under Rule 74(b) of the Jharkhand Service Code, 2001, or a similar provision, cannot apply.
• Serving judges: If you are still in service, your application must go through proper channel.
• Sitting Chairmen: Judges already working as Chairman of a PLA do not need to apply.
• Posting undertaking: In the declaration, you agree to serve in the Permanent Lok Adalat of whichever district JHALSA assigns to you after selection.
• Interview: Shortlisted judges may be called for an interview at JHALSA, Doranda, Ranchi on a date, time and place JHALSA will fix.
• False details: If any statement in your application turns out to be wrong or misleading, your candidature may be cancelled.

Application Submission Notes

Fill in the prescribed format printed with the notice — it asks for your dates of entry into and retirement from judicial service, place of retirement, any mediation training, and whether you faced adverse remarks or departmental proceedings. Paste one recent passport-size photograph on the form and attach two self-addressed envelopes with Rs. 55 stamps each.

Address the envelope to the Member Secretary, Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority (Nyaya Sadan), Near AG Office, Doranda, Ranchi-834002. Send it only by Speed Post or courier, and make sure it reaches by 5:00 PM on the closing day. Late arrivals will not be considered, so post it well in advance.