Which one of the following is a condition precedent for appointment as

Which one of the following is a condition precedent for appointment as the presiding officer of a labour court under Section 7 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947?

Holding judicial office in India for a minimum of 15 years
Having minimum experience of 5 years as a District Judge or Additional District Judge
Minimum 20 years of experience as presiding officer of a labour court constituted under any State Act
Minimum 3 years of experience as an officer of the Indian Judicial Service in Grade III
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CISF-AC-EXE – 2020
The correct answer is B.
Section 7(3) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, specifies the qualifications for appointment as the presiding officer of a Labour Court. One of the conditions listed in Section 7(3)(b) is that the person “has, for a period of not less than three years, been a District Judge or an Additional District Judge”. Option B states “Having minimum experience of 5 years as a District Judge or Additional District Judge”. Since 5 years is “not less than three years”, this condition is fulfilled by a person with 5 years of experience as a District Judge or Additional District Judge.
Other qualifications under Section 7(3) include being a High Court Judge (a), holding any judicial office in India for not less than seven years (c), or being the presiding officer of a State Labour Court for not less than five years (d). Options A and C list judicial office and State Labour Court PO experience, respectively, but with incorrect minimum durations (15 years vs 7 years for judicial office; 20 years vs 5 years for State Labour Court PO). Option D, minimum 3 years of experience as an officer of the Indian Judicial Service in Grade III, is a specific rank which usually falls under the general category of “judicial office” requiring 7 years experience under Section 7(3)(c); 3 years in IJS Grade III typically does not meet the 7-year threshold for judicial office, nor is it usually equivalent to District Judge experience. While technically options A and C also state durations exceeding the minimum requirements of the Act, implying they are also valid conditions, the question asks for “which one of the following is a condition precedent”. Option B presents a specific category (DJ/Addl DJ) with a duration (5 years) that clearly meets the minimum requirement (3 years) for that category as listed in the Act. Assuming the question is well-posed and intends a single correct answer, Option B is the most direct representation of a valid condition derived from the Act’s specified categories, despite the duration being higher than the minimum.