Judge Advocate General Branch – Indian Army
By Kalpeshkumar L Gupta
I remember my last attempt to join Indian Army which was for Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch. I went to Service Selection Centre, Bangalore in year 2009 immediately after marriage. There were around 90 young law graduates across the country. On first day, screening test was conducted. Only 30 were selected for further interview process, I was one of them. Those 30 were divided in three group of 10 candidates each. There are three stages of interview 1. Group Test 2. Psychological Test 3. Interview. At the end of five days only one candidate was selected.
I am writing this blog to make young law graduate aware about this very important branch of Indian Army. Hope some will try and some will be selected.
Jai Hind !
Introduction
The post of Judge Advocate General in India is held by a Major General who is the legal and judicial chief of the Army. The Indian Army has a separate JAG branch which consists of legally qualified army officers. Officers can either be commissioned directly into the JAG Branch or can be sidestepped from other branches, arms or corps. JAG officers provide legal help to the military in all aspects, in particular advising the presiding officers of courts-martial on military law.
Eligibility
1. Must be an Indian.
2. Age limit: 21 to 27 years.
3. Minimum 55% aggregate Marks in LLB Degree (three years professional after graduation or five years after 10+2 examination). The candidates should be eligible for registration with Bar Council of India/State. Candidate should be from a College/University recognized by Bar Council of India.
Process of Application
1. Advertisement
Please refer recent advertisement for required details
2. After application shortlisted candidate will be called for Service Selection Board (SSB) Interview. It is five days process. First day there will be screening test. Only selected candidate will be retained for further interview process.
Please watch video on SSB interview
Book on SSB http://www.amazon.in/gp/product/8193108701/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=3626&creative=24790&creativeASIN=8193108701&linkCode=as2&tag=ss099-21
3. After SSB interview selected candidate will undergo medical examination.
4. After medical examination, there will be merit list at central level.
5. Selected candidate will be sent for training at Officer Training Academy (OTA), Chennai
6. After successful completion of training they will be given rank of Lieutenant
Tenure of Engagement
Short Service Commission to Officers (Male and Female) in the regular Army will be granted for 14 years i.e. for an initial period of 10 years extendable by a further period of 04 years.
After Retirement
After tenure is over, there is very good scope to practice in Armed Forces Tribunal as a lawyer (http://www.aftdelhi.nic.in/). Tribunal was set up in year 2009 under Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2008.
References :-
http://www.ssbcrack.com/2015/11/indian-army-jag-entry-scheme-jag-17.html