For today’s interview, we get invaluable insights into the daily life of a judge and tips on preparing and cracking judiciary exams. Our guest is Tarini Prasad Sahoo is Additional Civil Judge-cum-Judicial Magistrate First Class, Angul . He is not only a paragon of justice but also a philanthropist who was actively participating in social welfare actives through his organization – USI foundation.

Namaste sir, It is lovely to have you on the blog. Before we begin, would you please introduce yourself?

Namaskar. I am Tarini Prasad Sahoo working as Civil Judge-cum-Judicial     Magistrate of Angul Judgeship.

Thank you sir. What was your motivation to go for judiciary?

I have always been curious to serve people and as was also involved in various charitable and philanthropic activities since my student life, I feel that when you will be in good position and having power, you can do it more efficiently. As Judiciary is the last resort for the citizens in case of the need and opting their legal rights, so what can be the best thing than to be a part of  Judiciary and impart timely justice to the people as much as possible. With this object I have joined the same .

Many of my readers are judicial aspirants but don’t know what to expect from the profession itself. The common assumption is that as a judicial officer, one must sit, hear cases and pronounce Judgments. Would you share your experience as a civil judge till now and shed a light in the day-to-day activities of a judicial officer.

Yes, its true that a Judicial Officer must hear patiently, think wisely, work   diligently and decide justly. My experiences so far have been very good. Pronouncement of Judgment is no doubt is the end product of every trial. Apart from that there are many other  works to be performed daily. Foremost duty of the Judicial Officer is that               punctuality, as it is well settled that the very wing of governance i.e. the Indian Judiciary           is the most disciplined one. So as a Judicial Officer, I reach court in correct time and then I go the dais at fixed timeas per G.R.C.O. and maintain the Diary of the Court, sign the   Date Seal and     Attendance Register. During the dais time, Records are put up which have been fixed for          the day and accordingly the Recordsare dealt with. Also we need dispose off or hear different Petitions filed by learned Advocates as well as pass appropriate Orders. That apart different Registers are also maintained.

I see that a Judge’s responsibilities are immense and therefore the preparation must be equally intense. But it is during the preparation stage that everyone gets confused as to what plan to follow. Should one read only the bare acts, or read only the text books? So, sir how can one have a holistic approach to the prep period?

See, the preparation style differs from person to persons depending upon the level               of grasping  and understanding the subjects. But the basics of the subjects are to be referred from the Bare Acts of the concerned subjects as well as different books of subjects as well. The most important is to make a proper plan as per your convenience. First of all learn about the syllabus of the examination, then choose the subjects in which you are comfortable. Then have a look on the previous year question papers from which you can get the important areas you need to focus on. Then prepare precise notes of the same important chapters or areas of the concerned subjects which will be helpful for you                during the pre examination time and which will also come handy for easy revision and                reference during the examination period. With regards to Preliminary Examination, one should thoroughly read the Bare Acts of the subjects as per the syllabus of the Preliminary examination, and refer the illustrations and examples therein. Also we should keep ourselves up to date with the recent case laws and also the land mark case laws of       Hon’ble Supreme Court and Hon’ble High Court.

And is it correct that an aspirant should start preparing directly for mains exam? Would it not be over-optimism on the part of the student to start for mains when one has not even given the preliminary exams?

I will suggest to do the preparation simultaneously. As we have minus marking in    preliminary examination, we should give equal importance to preliminary examination.  Fix time table for preliminary examination and time table for main examination separately, as in both the examination the modulation is different, in one we need to face objective multiple type questions and in the other, subjective questions. So, we should prepare our time schedule for both preliminary and mains as both are equally important.

How can one practice answer writing for mains?

As I said earlier, the very basic principle of writing in subjective papers is that the answers must be to the point as per the question asked and also keeping in view how much mark that question carries. Basically, we can expect two kinds of questions, one is problem based questions and one is analytical questions. That apart, in appropriate places, we need to cite land mark decision of the Hon’ble Apex court or High court in that light. Most important is that the answer must be very crispy and convincing, well arranged and also try to keep the handwriting good, so that it will be convenient for the examiner to do proper evaluation.

When should one start the preparation for mains?

See, if you are passionate to join Judicial Service from the very beginning, you can start it from your law college time. And when the Advertisement comes, one must focus on the preparation of the preliminary examination, but also give some time for mains simultaneously as sometimes we may not have mush time for mains exam after preliminary exam. During these time the precise notes, as I said earlier (if prepared by you) will be helpful.

How to prepare for interview?

The Interview is basically about the test of personality and attitude. Be clear about the basics of the optional subjects you have opted for and also have some knowledge  about current affairs and also some history about the state and its culture. Most      important is to be properly dressed and behave most diligently.

What was your experience at the preparation level? What would you suppose helped you the most at that stage?

Reading Text Books of subjects helped me a lot during my preparation. As I was      not opting any coaching, I was basically dependent upon the text books of different authors and also consultation with my teachers have basically helped me. As regards to the compulsory subject English, I was greatly helped by my father as he had completely guided and monitored me through out. I will also suggest the aspirants that they must         give equal importance for the subject English like other law subjects.

What subjects did you opt for in the mains exam?

I was opting “The combination of IPC & Tort”, “Combination of Constitutional law and Jurisprudence” and “Family law, the Combination of Hindu Law and Muslim Law”.

What books did you refer for the judicial services exam?

I was referring the text books written by prominent authors of each subject and in this regards, my College and Department Library was also very helpful for me.  (Please refer to University Law college, Vanivihar syllabus here for this.)

Thank you for your time sir, finally what message would you like to give to our aspirants out there?

My message will be very clear, don’t take stress while preparing and prepare your own time table and brief notes as per convenience and focus on understanding the concepts and basics of the subjects you are opting for, as preparation for Semester Exam and Competitive exam is quite different. I wish all best to all the aspirants.