I'm a final year student (3 year LLB), wondering whether I should apply for an SC clerkship. I have someone who is willing to refer me, but I'm not sure if I should spend one more year "away from actually practicing" at either Delhi or Bombay HC. Does anyone have suggestions/experiences to share? Strongly considering applying for an LLM in sometime, and I do see how the clerkship would help with that. TIA.

clerkship is a wonderful opportunity if you get a 'good' judge. you learn the minute details of procedures in SC, a lot about drafting as you burn through diverse submissions (esp SLPs if you are so placed), and depending on the judge a lot about different forms of research as well. It is quite valuable for applying for scholarship for LLM (esp in the US unis, although they have started to catch on to the rather 'loose' nature of selection). However, in my opinion, if one shifts to HC after SC clerkship about half of the skills gained become redundant.

Doesn't the SC conduct a 2 phase exam (written and interview) for appointing judicial clerks for a one-year contract?

Yes, definitely worth it. Here is an older article about judicial clerkships by a person who is teaching now.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3295959

Bump