This article has been written by Sharanya Ghosh, of Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA.

The Guest Speaker 

Divyam Chaudhary completed his schooling in Uttar Pradesh following which he completed his LLB from Uttarakhand University. He then went to Lucknow and began working, while also working on his LLM at the same time, post which he began appearing for the judiciary examinations of various states. He cleared the Jharkhand Judicial Service Examination with rank 58.

The Host

Advocate Anu Bhatnagar worked as an Advocate in the Gwalior High Court after having graduated from Amity University Gwalior. Following this, she joined LawSikho as an intern and as of today is the Webinar Executive at LawSikho.

Should I only prepare the syllabus for the judicial examination of my state?

Everybody has their own strategies, depending on their own needs and choices. Some people believe that they should give the paper of each state while others focus only on one. There are also those who prepare for a select number of states’ papers. One thing that Mr. Chaudhary noted was that there are certain universal subjects that are tested in the papers of all the subjects. So, even if you prepare for two different states, the syllabus will not be entirely different. In the end, the choice is yours.

What are the subjects common to the syllabus of different states?

These subjects include the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Criminal Procedure, Constitutional law among others. Other than these subjects, there are certain subjects that are state-specific. Thus, one needs to prepare local legislations as well as some core subjects for the examination of a particular state. These may include subjects such as land revenues, negotiable instruments, limitations and so on. It is also likely that some of the subjects overlap for states which is greatly beneficial if you are giving more than one paper.

What is the routine that I should follow? Should I begin preparation after my graduation? 

This is a decision that you need to make depending on what you want to achieve and do. It is not a decision that one person can make for all. You must first decide whether you truly want to go for the judiciary and once your decision is final, you can start preparing whenever you feel the time to be right. You should simply focus on your goals and be dedicated. Your focus should be centred and as long as you want it, you will be able to achieve it.

What is the format of the question paper? How did you manage time? How should I make strategies?

Your preparation will happen in phases. Initially, you will struggle with the basics, but after a point, you will be able to grasp the basics easily. Thus, you will be able to handle things better and study better. In the Jharkhand judiciary paper, specifically, the core subjects tested are the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Criminal Procedure, Constitutional law, Evidence Act and Contract Laws which constitute 80 marks of the 100 mark paper. The remaining marks are divided equally between English and General Science. 

Questions asked by viewers and the students of LawSikho community

How did you manage your time during the paper?

Time management is something that becomes easier with practice. As long as you follow the requirements of the questions asked, you should be able to complete your paper and it may even happen before time. Thus, you need to focus on practicing papers and revising your notes in order to ensure that you are able to write your answers well. 

Speaking of past years’ papers, how important is it to solve or study them?

When we prepare for an examination, we obviously do not know the questions that will be asked. The best way to analyse and understand the paper is by studying and solving these papers of past years. It plays a major role, especially since different papers have different patterns. Familiar questions in the actual paper become much easier to solve and you may even finish your paper faster. 

Do I need to go for coaching or can I study by myself? Just how important is it to seek guidance from someone else?

Mr. Chaudhary responded to this question by expressing that he had also joined coaching classes when he studied for these examinations. However, he said that the coaches can only guide a person and that success will only come to those who put in efforts. A coach can only provide a student with methods, but they cannot write the paper for the students. His own coach had told him that it does not matter if he had not studied before. He can start today. It is not true that people cannot clear exams of their own volition. It is not necessary to go for coaching.

What was your approach for the interview?

You give the preliminary and main rounds of the examination before you appear for the interview. These written examinations have already tested your knowledge. In other words, your objective skills were tested in the preliminary round and your subjective understanding was tested in the main examination. The interview is a test of your personality. You need to be honest about your personality and you can practice in front of the mirror to be able to be confident in front of the panel.

What kind of questions are asked in the interview?

The interview generally involves simple questions which one has already prepared for before for the written papers. You should definitely revisit your concepts. Other than that, the interviewers may ask questions based on current affairs and general knowledge. This is all done to test your personality and your patience. When Mr. Chaudhary had appeared for his interview, he was asked about the Citizenship Amendment Act as well as the famous Ayodhya verdict of the Supreme Court. 

If I want to start preparing at their college stage, how should I balance between academics and judiciary?

There are certain subjects that you may be studying in college that may be a part of the particular examination that you are preparing for. You should focus on those subjects so that it ensures that you are able to perform well in both your college examinations as well as in the judiciary examinations in the future. This is also a great time to strengthen your General Sciences and general knowledge since you will have more time to prepare on the daily. General science is a vast section and may be daunting for most students and anyone with a strong general knowledge will benefit greatly.

How do I deal with failure? How can I stay motivated?

The first thing that you should do is be confident in yourself. You need to realise that you are capable of achieving what you aspire to achieve. Once you have this confidence, you should prepare well for your examinations. However, even if you are faced with failure, you should introspect and try to understand where you are going wrong. Try not to let failure affect you. Everybody takes their own time to clear these examinations and this does not mean that your efforts are going waste. You really need to believe in yourself.

What if I’m not sure about whether I want to go into the judiciary or not? And what if I don’t end up going to the judiciary after giving the exam?

Mr. Chaudhary, in response to this question, said that the knowledge that you acquire does not go anywhere and that even if you don’t end up going for the judiciary, you may find something else. You should not worry so much about the future. Give it time, and put in your efforts and be confident. You need to first be confident. As long as you have your confidence and your knowledge, you can achieve your goals.

What is the weightage of general knowledge in the judiciary examination?

In some states, like Jharkhand, the subject is not given much weightage. However, in some other states, such as Uttar Pradesh, general knowledge becomes very important. Some people believe that if they perfect their legal knowledge, that will suffice in balancing the scales. However, as mentioned above, states like Uttar Pradesh have as many as 200 marks allotted to general knowledge. Thus, it is essential to prepare it well.

How do I prepare general knowledge and language for the judiciary?

One way to prepare general knowledge and general science for the judiciary examinations is by following YouTube and some other applications through which you can gain free access to information and news. Other than this, you can study the NCERT, which strengthens your basics. You should also try to enhance your vocabulary since you may have to translate some words which you can do by maintaining a diary. The stronger your vocabulary, the greater the chance of you better translating words in a paper. 

Speaking of translation, how do I prepare for it?

While studying the bare acts of various Acts, you should try and find those that are available in different languages, such as those that are both available in Hindi and English. When you read a section, you should read it in both the languages so that you are aware of and the one that you are trying to improve so that you can learn the meanings of certain words. You should maintain a diary as mentioned in the previous question as it is also very helpful.

How do I study the local laws?

You need to prepare your core subjects and then focus on local laws. This will help you prepare for more than one subject. When you compare the syllabus of the examinations of different states, you should make a smart decision in picking which states to write the papers of. You should try to keep the number in a few states, such as four. The syllabus in these states should have common subjects so that you can prepare better in the limited time. 

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