HOW TO CRACK JUDICIAL AND CIVIL SERVICES EXAM It is a myth that law is less rewarding, complex & cumbersome; ironically, it is the method of learning & study which is the real culprit. In essence, Law is codified common sense and as such it demands application, innovation & interaction at intra & inter-disciplinary scale. We feel privileged & proud to share with you that after constructive engagement of our institute with Bar Association, Law Schools and Government Training Academy of Civil Servants, we have come to the conclusion that it is a myth that law is less rewarding, complex & cumbersome; ironically, it is the method of learning & study which is the real culprit. In essence, Law is codified common sense and as such it demands application, innovation & interaction at intra & interdisciplinary scale. Understanding deficit is a by product of faulty approach & strategy, hence we take a pledge to forge new tools & techniques to make it very interesting, absorbing & enlightening subject which it deserves. We respectfully submit that our approach is innovative & path breaking & with your cooperation, we will get the best result in coming years. Customised preparation: In a university exam (in LLB), you tend to write long answers, which comprise 5-6 pages each but in judicial services exam, you are meant to answer briefly. There are essentially two approaches to follow while preparing for the judicial & civil services exam. One is horizontal and the other vertical. The first comes handy for the preliminary exam where you have to read exhaustively and you must prepare to solve the objective questions. The reading of bare acts, celebrated case laws comprises horizontal preparation. You can’t afford to skip even a single topic. After the preparation through this approach is done, you should start a vertical approach, which equips you to hits the bull’s eye (read mains exam). This is the lateral study of legal subjects wherein you have to prepare each and every topic in entirety. A simple textbook approach can’t be followed. To cite an example, when we study the recent Supreme Court’s order prohibiting investigative agencies to carry out narco test then it must be studied in the light of different laws including Law of Evidence Criminal Procedure Code and Constitutional Law. This way, each subject must be studied thoroughly. In these exams there are around 20 subjects of law—major and minor acts. For the judicial services of different states, you have to do 5-10% per cent of extra preparation. In Delhi, there is no transfer of property act but for the services in Punjab & Haryana, you must prepare the customary laws regarding family matters (marriage, succession & adoption etc). In Uttar Pradesh, you must study local laws such as UP’s land law. Delhi’s exam asks questions from the Delhi Rent Control Act. Codified common sense Law is nothing but codified common sense. Some students start learning the bare acts while these should be understood properly. Procedural codes of the law—Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) and Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) – are easy to understand if the process of their operation & enforcement is understood is beforehand. The one who files a suit is known as plaintiff in CPC while the same person is called ‘state’ in criminal proceedings. The person against whom case is filed is called defendant in CPC and defence in CrPC. “In case you wish to review the judgment (when the verdict is held against you), it can be done as per the provisions given in the ‘order 47’ in CPC while the same provision is mentioned in ‘order 362’ in CRPC. When the constitional matter is involved, you can file the review petition as per ‘article 137’. It is interesting to note that the sum total of all the review provisions, 47 (4+7), 362 (3+6+2) and 137 (1+3+7) is eleven,” says Alok Kumar Ranjan, who runs a coaching academy by the name of Ambition Law Institute in Delhi. Another useful trick to crack the exam is one word technology or trick. There is one key word around which most of the related provisions can be understood. To cite an example, there is a word ‘appropriation’ in section 23 of the Sales of goods act. Try asking questions around this word. Who will do the appropriation? How will that be done? and likewise. Similarly, if you study the presidential elections in the article 54 of the constitution then the key word is ‘election’. Who will participate in this, how will it be conducted and how many states will participate in this? All these techniques and tricks call for an innovative approach. You must be able to analyse and compare different provisions of the act for a better understanding. Grouping method Another useful technique to learn law is ‘group’ method. You can do the grouping which will help you remember the provisions for a long duration. Every chronology in the legal books is logical and easy to remember. In the case of constitution, if we talk about government and its powers it starts from the country, regions, citizens and come down to states, union territories and panchayat starting from part one and ending at Part 10. The part VII was removed after constitution was amended in 1956. Interestingly, to remove the part seven of constitution, seventh amendment act was introduced. “As per the group method, first four parts have provisions related to country and its people while next five parts entail issues related to the administrative, legislative and judicial structure of the country. It starts from the union of India in part five and boils down to panchayat system in part nine and similarly. Civil & judicial services These are among the most sought after careers in the country. They offer vast job opportunities as every year U.P.S.C. and State P.S.C. conduct exams to select students for civil services, Similarly, now-a-days, many vacancies in the judicial services are being required to be filled up. A Brief Introduction Law- an interesting subject: Law is a subject which is based more upon concept and analysis apart from being interesting and applied and future more now a day it offers vast carrier opportunities. In Judicial services, the exams are conducted in 3 stages i.e. preliminary, mains & interview. So while preparing we have to keep all the 3 stages of examination in mind. Prelims: In preliminary examination the requirements are as (1) understanding of the basics from the bare act and illustrations (2) comprehension of celebrated case laws, (i.e.) application of legal concepts in factual situation) (3) finding of factual information apart from changes in law (temporal variation) either by amendment in statute or by reversal or by overruling of decisions (4) legal maxims, its meaning and application. Mains: In mains examination one is required to develop capacity to understand the call of question and an analytical bent of mind which can be applied in giving complete content to an organized answer. The difference primarily in preliminary and mains is not the syllabus but the way to present answer and to reach to the right conclusion. The mains exam demands reproduction of ideas where as P.T. requires choosing the right option. Student should prepare both for mains and preliminary exam simultaneously. In preparation one should start with weeding out irrelevant and dissecting relevant and most relevant and then incisive study apart from intensive or extensive study is required. Incisive study emphasizes more on how to study apart from what to study and what no. In this direction, first step should be defining the real syllabus, which can be understood by going through the previous year question papers along with mains and preliminary syllabus. Law- not about sections & case laws: As law is not all about sections, case laws, & facts which is general perception, so it must not be read in shallow manner but one should try to develop deep into the subject by raising questions like what is this topic all about, what is its relevance, what question can be raised in the exam and how to make it interesting, so it can be remembered better. The broad conceptual base has to be developed and its interlink ages with other topics and subjects have to be appreciated i.e. what makes the study interesting. The process helps in understanding which facilitates retention and reproduction. Approach of Study: In this light approach of study should be oriented towards the following ends: 1. The student should try to develop the broad conceptual base. 2. Understanding of the linkages with the topics and other papers of law. 3. To apply law in real factual situation 4. Temporal and spatial variations along with why this variation has happened and what is its implication. 5. To produce analytical content in the answers of mains examinations. 6. To innovate methods to remember the Base act (i.e. the concerned provisions of the act) and important case laws on the point. Subject & Syllabus In civil services students are required to pass a 3-stage exam (Pre, Mains, interview). In Mains, law is one of the optional apart from G.S. Law is one of the most scoring subjects in civil services exam but we are required to understand the nature of questions and specific areas from where the questions are being asked. We are also required to know where lies the most relevant material and how to grasp that which are required to be reproduced in the answer. Here the art of visualizing questions is of key importance. The recent year question papers in mains reflects that the questions have not only been asked from often repeated areas but also from the areas which have not been touched so far. The current development and happenings also condition the mind of question-setter and they raise new issues from the same area. Some papers like Constitution, Cr.P.C, C.P.C , Evidence, S.R.Act are more dynamic in nature and poses problem for students and it requires rigorous analysis of the questions. As far as other papers are concerned, it is more Bare Act oriented and the nature of question being very simple, so it has more potential to yield the better results. Therefore approach of study and the answer writing pattern of these papers should be different. So some papers apart from analysis and comprehension requires support of current developments whereas other papers expects orientation of Bare Act alongwith illustrations and case laws. Strategy for Preparation These competitive examinations require a different kind of approach and strategy which include understanding the real syllabus, demand of the question, demand of subject, the art of writing answer and the ability to reproduce that at the right time. This is the least that is expected of a student preparing for Judicial and Civil Services. An aspirant of Civil and Judicial Services need to strive for excellence in his/her presentation and the first step towards achieving that is to have an in depth and thorough knowledge of the subject which can come only through hard work over a long period or through competent and able guidance. We, at Ambition, have prepared the real syllabus, which is reflected in the previous years’ questions. Here lies the difference between the most relevant and relevant topics to be studied for the examination. Most of us know the relevant things but re-unable to find out the most relevant things, which make our study precise, and exam oriented. We not only prepare our teaching syllabus, according to the demand of the examinations, but also try to solve the questions of previous years and also try to answer questions, which are in out contemplation i.e. likely to be asked. Effective Study: In sum, to study effetely for written examination either objective or subjective, a student must be able to do the three all important works i.e. 1. To reduce legal theories and statute down to a concise, straight forward statement of the elements which just be satisfied for them to apply. Without knowledge of the precise elements, it is not possible to anticipate each of the potential issues which that legal theory could yield. 2. 3. To perceive or anticipate which words or phrases within a legal principle are likely to be the source of issues; and how they are likely to arise within the context of a problem. To conceptualize situations in which each of the elements of a rule of law would become the source of a factual issue. Unless a student can illustrate himself/herself an application of each element of a rule of law, he/she does not truly understand that legal principle. Besides above mentioned things this examinations require a different kind of approach and strategy which includes understanding the real syllabus, demand of the question, demand of subject, the art of writing answers and the ability to reproduce that at the right time. This is the least that is expected of a student of a preparing for judicial services. Recent Trends: The recent year question papers in mains reflects that the questions have not only been asked from often repeated areas but also from the areas which have not been touched so far. The current development and happenings also condition the mind of question-setter and they raise new issues from the same area. Some papers like Constitution, Cr.P.C., Evidence, S.R. Act are more dynamic in nature and poses problem for students and it requires rigorous analysis of the questions. As far as other papers are concerned, it is more Bare Act oriented and the nature of question being very simple, so it has more potential to yield the better results. Therefore approach of study and the answer writing pattern of these papers should be different. So some papers apart from analysis and comprehension require support of current developments whereas other papers expect orientation of Bare Act along with illustrations and case laws. Answering Technique: While writing the answer one should first prepare the background of the answer and for doing this mentioned suggestions have to be kept in mind. Any answer of law will generally contain three important parts: (1) Statement of law, (2) illustration of Bare Act or case laws and (3) logical conclusion on the above two. Apart from it, one should adhere to (1) A, B, C of answer writing i.e. accuracy, brevity and clarity in presenting answer (2) innovative examples illustrations which can explain law in best possible way and (3) Spotting of issues and raising arguments for and against. Practice makes a man perfect: These things can be achieved only by practicing which exposes one’s weakness and prepares one well in advance of examination. In Judicial services the requirements are as simple as (1) understanding of the basics the Bare Act & illustrations, (2) comprehension of celebrated case laws, (i.e. application of legal concepts in factual situation) (3) finding of factual information apart from changes in law (temporal variation) either by amendment in statute or by reversal or overruling of decisions, (4) Legal maxims, its meaning and application. In Mains examination one is required to develop capacity to understand the call of question and an analytical bent of mind which can be applied in giving complete content to an organized answer. The difference primarily in Preliminary and Mains is not the syllabus but the way to present answer and to reach to the right conclusion. The Mains exam demands Reproduction of ideas whereas P.T. requires choosing the right option. At both stages, concept building and analyzing is key to the subject without which this subject can’t be studied. That is what is the demand of the subject and which makes it interesting, conceptual and provides it an edge over other optional which requires much of the memorizing of facts. The acts and other sources of law (judicial decision, customs, common laws, etc.)contains theoretical content of law which are applied to factual situation and that is how it becomes really interesting but the application necessitates comprehend scion and then it has to be analyzed in right perspective. As law is not all about sections, case laws & facts which is general perception, so it must not be read in shallow manner but one should try to delve deep into the subject by raising questions like what is this topic all about, what is its relevance, what question can be raised in the exam & how to make it interesting so it can be remembered better. The broad conceptual base has to be developed and its interlink ages with other GUIDANCE “When you know what to study You must know how to study”. And that is what we strive to help you know at the institute. It has taken us a long, compassionate and pragmatic research approach to meticulously plan out the scheme of study in such a way that aspirants will find a very conducive environment to stimulate their performing instincts. All this scientific approach to study has been equally and sufficiently supported by sophisticated equipments and logistic facilities available here and a passionate urge by us to help you with experience & inspiration into an Ambition. ________________________________________ :