This article is written by Mohd Sarim Khan, from Lloyd Law College.

Career in Judiciary

The importance of the judiciary does not come up suddenly in a few years, it is one of the most prominent and respectful professions from the ancient periods. Producing justice is a very challenging and powerful profession that comes with a responsibility to decide right or wrong. This Profession not only Provides Challenges in one’s life but also brings financial and social gains to attach with it. Judiciary is the only position that has the power and respect to decide the issues which are of national importance.

If you are passionate to become a judge and want to deliver justice, then appearing for the Chattisgarh Judicial Services Competitive Examination is a very bright opportunity. 

How to become a Judge in the state of Chattisgarh

The State government allows you to become a judge by the following two ways:

• Firstly, by appearing and getting selected for the lower judiciary competitive exam conducted by the Chhattisgarh public service commission conducted on a regular basis.
• Secondly, by appearing for an entry-level competitive exam for the higher judicial services after litigating for a minimum of 7 years in any High Court/District Court. 

In this article, we will confine our research upon the lower judiciary service of Chhattisgarh to make the candidates, who wish to appear, get complete clarity about the exam.

Frequency of Exam

Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission conducts an exam yearly or twice a year depending upon the number of vacancies estimated by the High Court of Chhattisgarh. More probable tentative dates for the preliminary exam fall between the month of April-May.

Number of Seats

Chattisgarh is the ninth largest state in India with a population of 25.5 million. It is a developing state in India. The development of the state can’t be done without proper and smooth governance of law and order. The adequate judicial officer is required to finish the pendency of cases in the judiciary, there is an urgent need to recruit more and more judicial officers by Chhattisgarh High Court to fulfil the need of the Judicial officer for the smooth functioning. The High court offers the numbers of seats depending upon the vacancy, the numbers of seats vary between 35-45 for the general, where aggregate seats for the reserved category have so far varied between 10-15.   

Eligibility

The following essential qualifications must  be qualified at the time of application:

1. The candidate must be a citizen of India.
2. The candidates must be a holder of a degree in law which is recognized by the bar council of India.
3. The minimum age prescribed is 18 years, while a candidate above 40 years shall be ineligible, the upper age limit is relaxable by 3 years for S.C category candidates of Chhattisgarh.

**Enrollment with the Bar Council of India/State as an advocate is not a requirement for appearing in the Judicial Exam.

Mode of Applying

Applications are received online. A candidate is required to register himself or herself as a “new user” on the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission website(http://psc.cg.gov.in/ ). If you have already registered with the Chattisgarh Public Service Commission website. Then click on the “registered users link” available on the website.

The mode of fees payment is through e-payment i.e. through debit card, credit card and net banking (Rs 400 for general category, and Rs. 300 for other reserved categories).

Centres of Examinations

Preliminary Examination  

• Bilaspur
• Raipur
• Durg- Bhilai

Mains Examination

• Bilaspur
• Raipur

Language of the Paper

The language of questions paper of online preliminary examinations and mains written examinations will be English and Hindi.

Scheme of the Exam

The Judicial examination shall be conducted by the CGPSC in three parts.

1. Firstly, the preliminary examination shall be conducted to restrict the number of candidates to the reasonable limits for the mains examination.
2. Questions for online preliminary examination shall be of 100 marks and will consist of 100 objective types questions. Each question will have four options for an answer, out of which one option will be the correct answer.
3. Candidates shall have to tick the correct options.
4. Online preliminary examinations papers (objectives type) shall be evaluated as per entries made on online exams to be assessed on the computer.
5. All the merit holder students who have appeared in the online preliminary examinations. Will be selected in the ratio of 1:10 having regard to the number of vacancies shall be declared qualified for appearing in the mains.
6. Candidates obtaining equal marks as obtained by the last qualified candidates shall also be declared as qualified.
7. Though in consequence, the number of candidates declared as qualified may exceed the parameter of 10 times the number of notified vacancies.
8. The same procedure will be adopted for viva voce in the mains examination while declaring the candidates qualified on the basis of merit possibly three times against the number of vacancies.
9. The final selection will be on merit on the basis of the total obtained in the written (Mains) examination and viva voce. The calling of the candidates for viva-voce will be the final.
10. Maximum 15 marks are fixed for viva voce.
11. A candidate belonging to the unreserved category has to secure a minimum of 33% marks in the viva -voce and those belonging to scheduled classes/schedule tribes other backward classes shall be required to secure a minimum of 25% marks in the viva voce.

Key Notes

• The screening test will be conducted in the online preliminary examination to shortlist candidates for the main examination. 
• The mark sheet for online preliminary examination will not be issued.
• The candidates remaining absent in the viva-voce shall be disqualified for the selection.

Syllabus

Preliminary Exam

Questions: 100

Time: 2:00 Hours                                                                                                         Marks:100

S.NO	SUBJECT
1.	INDIAN PENAL CODE
2.	CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE
3.	CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE
4.	INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT
5.	CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
6.	CONTRACT ACT
7.	LIMITATION ACT
8.	THE CHHATTISGARH RENT CONTROL ACT, 2011
9.	COURT FEES ACT
10.	SPECIFIC RELIEF ACT
11.	REGISTRATION ACT
12.	THE CHHATTISGARH LAND REVENUE ACT
13.	THE NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENT ACT
14.	THE CHHATTISGARH EXCISE ACT, 1915
15.	TRANSFER OF PROPERTY ACT

Mains Exam

Time: 3:00 Hours                                                                                                         Marks: 100

Interview

Relatively more meritorious candidates from among those who appeared in the mains examination in the ratio 1:3 having regard to the number of vacancies shall be called for viva-voce. The maximum marks for viva-voce would be 15.

A candidate belonging to the unreserved category has to secure a minimum of 33% marks in the viva -voce and those belonging to scheduled castes/scheduled tribes/other backward classes shall be required to secure a minimum of 25% marks in the viva-voce.   

Weightage of each Subject

Preliminary Exam

The weightage of each subject differs from year to year. However, each year maximum questions have been asked from:

• Code of Civil Procedure Code
• Code of Criminal Procedure Code
• Indian Evidence Act
• Transfer of Property Act

Syllabus of preliminary exam of the Chhattisgarh consists of all the important subject of law, however, ignoring the local law of Chattisgarh is not a wise option as each mark counts and often questions from these laws decide the marks for the candidate’s such law are:

• The Chhattisgarh Rent Control Act, 2011
• Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code
• The Chhattisgarh Excise Act, 1915     

Another thing which we have to be mentally prepared for is that the preliminary exam will be online and Multiple Choice Question-based will consist of both procedural and substantive law. Thus, if a candidate is specifically focusing on the exam, he/she must keep a tab of the latest as well as old landmark judgment cases from all subjects.

Language Exam

The mains exam paper is subjective which is divided into three parts:

• Framing of Issues and writing of Judgment of Criminal Cases of 40 Marks
• Framing of Charges and writing of Judgment of Criminal Cases of 40 Marks
• Translation 
• Hindi to English – 10 Marks
• English to Hindi – 10 Marks

Level of Competition

In the past, mostly students who belong to Chhattisgarh were appearing for the exam, but with increasing awareness and quality of exam paper and legal education, the number of students from adjoining states is rapidly increasing.

Thus, it increases the level of competition for the students as there are limited numbers of seats. But one person shall be conscious that the real competition is always between a few serious candidates who form the cream of the competition, more than half of the students just appear to check the level of the paper.

Mantra on how to Prepare

The key mantra to crack the CGPSC exam is to follow three simple rules: “divide and learn the syllabus, back it up with extensive revision.” It is suggested to create a daily schedule and cover the entire syllabus in the limited time that one has.

Ladder of Preparation

• First, try to cover up the lengthy and complex laws such as C.P.C and CrPC.
• Try to frame your time of 4-5 months for extensive study.
• Cover the following laws together for a better understanding such as:

• C.P.C and Limitation Act
• Cr.Pc and Negotiable Instruments Act
• Contract Law and Specific Relief Act
• Transfer of Property Act 

• The Chhattisgarh Rent Control Act, 2011, Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code and The Chhattisgarh Excise Act, 1915
• Pick and go through the past year papers of both prelims and mains to have an idea about the types of questions that have been asked earlier.
• The maximum question of the prelims exam is memory-based, regular revision is extremely important.
• With each revision try to make notes more concise so that the last day of revision is an easy task.
• Write a good essay in English, read the editorial section of a standard English newspaper such as the Hindu, the Times of India etc.

Reference

Website of CGPSC: http://psc.cg.gov.in/

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