Contrary to public perception, there are a plethora of opportunities available for a law graduate, other than working at a corporate firm or litigation. One such avenue where you can pursue your love for the nation as well as your interest in the legal know-how, is working for the Indian Armed Forces as a legal officer. Though there exists a separate JAG department for legal officers in the Armed forces, only a few are actually aware about the same.
There has always been an air of confusion and uncertainty among law students with respect to the opportunities which exist in the Indian armed forces for them. We as law students are either oblivious to the amazing opportunities which exist for us in the forces or miss out on the opportunity due to no information or misinformation.
Your Legal Career Coach as a platform aims to provide you with detailed and comprehensive information explaining the same. In the present article we would provide you with a basic overview of the entries which exist for a law graduate in the Indian Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Territorial Army.
In the subsequent articles, we shall discuss each entry in detail from a number of parameters starting from the date of release of the notification, the qualifications required, to the procedure for selection and the kind of preparation required for the same. Read on!
- INDIAN ARMY:
Within the Indian Army, there is a separate branch which exists for law graduates to join the Army as proud officers, i.e. the Judge Advocate General Branch. JAG is a special direct entry for unmarried male and female law graduates, for joining the army as legally qualified army officers. Since it is a direct entry, one need not appear for any written examination and the aggregate percentage secured by the candidate in LLB degree is the shortlisting criteria for the same. However, one has to secure a minimum of 55% aggregate marks in LLB Degree (three years professional after graduation or five years after 10+2 examination) for applying for the entry. The candidates should be eligible for registration as an advocate with Bar Council of India/State. Candidate should be from a College/University recognized by Bar Council of India. The age bracket for applying is between 21 to 27 years. The notification is released twice a year.
- INDIAN AIR FORCE:
Unlike the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force does not have a direct entry provision as JAG for law graduates, but one can join the Air Force by taking the AFCAT examination, which is held twice a year. From among the entries which exist, two seats are reserved for Law qualified candidates in Ground duty (Non-Tech) branches and these candidates may get employed on legal duties of the IAF (after commissioning). However, the reservation of seats for law qualified candidates are subject to the notification issued for the same. Air Force has an internal JAG Department, which you can become a part of through the Ground duty (Non-Tech) entry after commissioning. The education qualification for AFCAT requires you to have passed 10+2 and Graduate Degree (Minimum three years degree course) in any discipline from a recognised university with a minimum of 60% marks. The age bracket for applying is between 20 to 26 years.
- INDIAN NAVY:
The Judge Advocate General (JAG) Department is the legal arm of the Indian Naval Service. The Indian Navy also has a separate direct entry for Law graduates similar to the Indian Army. The qualification and age criteria are also the identical for both the forces. However, unlike the Indian army, the Indian Navy does not release a notification every six months and the release of the notification is subject to the availability of vacancies. Therefore, one has to regularly stay updated about the notifications being released by the Navy.
- INDIAN COAST GUARD: The Indian Coast Guard also has a separate direct entry for law graduates. The educational qualification required is a degree in Law with minimum 60% marks from a recognised University. (Three years degree in Law after graduation) or (Five years after 10+2 examination). The criterion for age is, that a person should not be less than 21 years and more than 30 years on 1st July of the year of recruitment and relaxable up to 05 years in case of CG uniformed personnel and for the candidates belonging to the Schedule Castes or the Schedule Tribes, 03 years for the Other Backward Classes (Non Creamy Layer).
- TERRITORIAL ARMY (TA): For those of you who wish to don the uniform of the Indian Army while continue being gainfully employed, this is an amazing opportunity for you. The Indian Territorial Army (TA) is a second line of defence after the Regular Indian Army; it is not a profession, occupation or a source of employment. It is only meant for those people who are already in mainstay civilian professions; in fact, gainful employment or self-employment in a civil profession is a prerequisite for joining the Territorial Army. Volunteers of the Territorial Army usually serve in uniform for 2–3 months every year, so that they can bear arms for national defence in times of dire need or national emergencies. The qualification for joining TA are, a female or male citizen of India, 18 to 42 years as on last day of filing of application, graduate from any recognized university, a candidate must be physically and medically fit in all respects and must be gainfully employed.
The above mentioned information briefly describes the entries specific to law graduates (except Territorial Army). There are other entries too other than the JAG branch, through which a graduate can join the forces, which will be discussed in detail in the forthcoming articles. We are positive that this article was instrumental in giving you a little perspective and clarity with respect to the kind of opportunities available with you as a law graduate if you wish to join the forces. Stay connected with YLCC for more such information. Jai Hind!
YLCC would like to thank Apurva Shah for her valuable inputs in this article.
