How to Intern Under a Supreme Court Judge in India (Complete 2026 Guide)
Most guides on this topic mix up two very different things. One is interning in the personal chambers of a sitting judge. The other is interning at the Supreme Court’s own research wing. They work differently, they’re found differently, and they need different applications. This guide keeps them separate and walks you through both, so you know exactly what to do.
Quick Answer: The Two Real Routes
| Route | What It Is | Paid? | How You Apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judge’s Chamber Internship | Working directly for one sitting judge, on a case-by-case basis | Rarely paid | Email or Google Form, set individually by each judge’s office |
| Centre for Research and Planning (CRP) | A standing internship scheme at the Supreme Court’s own research centre | Unpaid | One official online form, open all year |
Neither route runs through a single central “Supreme Court internship portal.” That surprises most students, and it’s the single biggest reason applications go wrong. Let’s break down each route properly.
Route 1: Interning in a Judge’s Personal Chambers
Each sitting judge of the Supreme Court runs their own internship intake. There’s no shared system. One judge might take interns every month. Another might only take them twice a year. A third might not take interns at all.
How Judges Actually Advertise These Internships
Judges’ offices post openings through their own channel — usually an email address specific to that judge’s office, sometimes a Google Form. These notices show up on legal-internship listing sites like The LawCademy, Linkedin etc., and get shared by law school placement cells. There’s no fixed publishing schedule. New postings appear throughout the year, often with only a few weeks’ notice.
What You’ll Typically Need to Apply
- A concise CV (one to two pages)
- A cover letter or statement of purpose explaining why you want to work with that specific judge
- Sometimes a writing sample
- Occasionally a faculty recommendation letter
Typical Eligibility
Most chamber internships accept:
- 4th or final year students of a 5-year B.A. LL.B. programme
- 2nd year or above students of a 3-year LL.B. programme
Some judges set slightly different cut-offs, so always check the specific notice rather than assuming.
The Application Timeline
Most offices ask you to apply by a set date each month — often the 5th, 10th, 12th, or 15th of the month before your preferred internship month. Shortlisted candidates usually hear back about two weeks before the internship starts. If you don’t hear anything, that almost always means you weren’t selected. Most offices don’t send rejection emails.
Route 2: The Centre for Research and Planning (CRP)
Here’s the part most “how to intern under a Supreme Court judge” articles miss entirely. The Supreme Court itself runs a standing, structured internship scheme through its Centre for Research and Planning (CRP) — its own in-house research and policy division. You won’t be assigned to a specific judge here. Instead, you’ll work on judicial research and policy projects under the Director, CRP.
Why This Route Is Worth Knowing About
Unlike chamber internships, which pop up and disappear unpredictably, the CRP scheme runs on a defined, published structure:
- Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, all year round.
- The CRP takes up to 10 interns at a time.
- The minimum internship length is four weeks.
- It’s based at the Supreme Court’s own premises in New Delhi.
CRP Eligibility
You must be enrolled in a law degree recognised by the Bar Council of India, and generally in your 4th or 5th year of a five-year programme, or 3rd year of a three-year programme.
What the CRP Application Actually Requires
This is more structured than most chamber applications:
- A two-page CV
- A statement of purpose, 350 to 500 words, explaining why you want this internship and how it fits your goals
- A writing sample, 1,500 to 3,000 words, showing your legal research and writing ability
The CRP may also conduct a short telephonic interview if required. For detailed information on the application process and how to enroll in the internship, check our official CRP Internship Guide, which provides the latest application details and relevant links.
One Important Note
The CRP internship is unpaid. The Supreme Court doesn’t pay interns here, and the scheme’s own notification says so directly. Budget for your time in Delhi accordingly.
How to Actually Find Current Openings
Since there’s no single portal, you need to check a few sources regularly:
- Legal internship listing sites — The LawCademy, LawCtopus, LawBhoomi, Katcheri, linkedin posts by the research clerks, and similar platforms post new judge-chamber openings as they’re announced.
- Your college’s placement or internship cell — many law schools get direct notices from judges’ offices and share them internally first.
- The Supreme Court’s own website (sci.gov.in) — check the Centre for Research and Planning page directly for the current CRP application form and any updated eligibility notice.
- Faculty and senior students — a lot of chamber openings circulate through word of mouth before they ever get posted publicly.
Application Tips That Genuinely Help
- Apply 4 to 6 months ahead of when you want to intern. This gives you time to prepare a strong application and doesn’t lock you into one narrow window.
- Write a cover letter for that specific judge or the CRP specifically — not a generic one. Mention their area of practice, a recent judgment they wrote, or why the CRP’s research work interests you. Generic applications are the easiest ones to skip.
- Keep your writing sample sharp and your own. For the CRP especially, this is doing real work in your application — a weak or generic sample undermines an otherwise strong CV.
- Don’t take silence personally. Most offices simply don’t respond to unsuccessful applicants, given the sheer volume they receive.
- Never pay for an internship application. Some scam listings ask for a “processing fee” or “certificate fee.” Legitimate judges’ offices and the CRP never charge anything.
- Don’t assume one judge’s process works for another. Eligibility, documents, and deadlines are set office by office. Re-check every single time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a first-year law student intern under a Supreme Court judge? Generally no. Most chamber internships and the CRP scheme both require you to be at least in your 2nd or 3rd year, depending on whether you’re in a 3-year or 5-year programme.
Is there one official website to apply to all Supreme Court judges at once? No. Each judge’s office runs its own separate process. The only standing, centrally published scheme is the CRP internship.
How far in advance should I apply? 4 to 6 months ahead is a safe rule of thumb, especially for chamber internships where deadlines fall early in the preceding month.
Do Supreme Court judges pay their interns? Rarely, and it varies by office. The CRP internship is explicitly unpaid.
What’s the difference between interning with a judge and interning at the CRP? A chamber internship puts you directly under one judge, working on that judge’s specific matters. The CRP is the Court’s own research division — you work on institutional research and policy projects, not case work tied to one judge.
