Priya Chaudhary
It has been rightly said that hard work coupled with optimism bears fruits of success. Desi Kaanoon reached out to W.B.J.S ’20 topper Mr. Anubhov Kanjilal who has a lot to share about his journey. Read on to know more about his preparation-
Q. We must first ask you your strategy for preparation.
A. My strategy was simply to clear the concepts of law as much as possible, since I was told that in Judicial Service Examination we do not get a fixed pattern of questions to follow like we are usually habituated with in our University Law Exams. The syllabus was huge and I had to cover the whole thing and also since I didn’t take any tuitions or classes so it was difficult. But when I made a routine of studying everyday initially 7-8 hrs a day and then increasing it to 18-19 hrs a day(during exams) helped a lot. I also used to practice a lot of MCQs from the internet for preliminary examinations. For mains I practiced solving previous year question papers within 3 hrs of stipulated time, which helped me garner confidence for the actual Mains examinations which in case of WBJS has a very hectic schedule as one as to appear for 2 papers back to back in the same day and that too consecutively for 6 days!
Q. What experiences during the five years at Calcutta University do you consider important in your preparation?
A. During my University days we used to have classroom debates on various topics which I think has always been helpful in gathering knowledge not only on Law but also on other current topics. Having friends who share the similar knack of discussing a variety of topics including politics, sports, economics etc helped me alot in broadening up my views on law and life. I believe the 5 years of University life which we law students come across helps us a lot in building perseverance, dedication and lastly patience which I personally believe comes very handy in building our careers whether in litigation, academic or government service.
Q. What should be the ideal time for an aspirant to begin his preparation?
A. I do not believe in any such ideal time for an aspirant. I myself completed my B.A. LL.B(Hons) in 2016 and started practicing in Courts since then. I started preparing for judicials after almost 4 years of graduation. So there is technically no ideal time, once you make up your mind then you must dedicate yourself towards the goal and I am sure with utmost dedication one is definitely going to succeed. Still one can say, from 4th year(7th or 8th semester) would be ideal to start preparing since by that time law students are familiar with major substantive law( Contract, Torts, Transfer of Property, IPC etc) and procedural laws(CPC, CrPC, Evidence etc).
Q. It is said that to crack a competitive examination, one should try to avoid things that bring him/her down and stay motivated. How much do you find this to be true?
A. Absolutely true. See I already mentioned above that I have had no tutors or guides who would help me with my preparations. And there were times when I indeed felt very low with my preparations, with my life and also the Pandemic(Covid-19) had hit us hard during the time I started preparing. Furthermore Bengal had brutally suffered from the Amphan Super Cyclone, that time we had power shortages, water logging and no mobile phone connectivity, hence my preparations endured tremendous hardships. I used to listen to motivational songs (O Palan Hare Nirgun o Nyare and Kun Faya Kun being always there in my playlists), I didn’t get time to watch movies but I used to watch the cave jump scene from the Dark Knight Rises movie on loop, the words “make the climb, without the rope” motivated me alot both literally as well as factually! I never let the thought of failure creep up in my mind, I would really like to thank my grandfather, my parents and my wife for being there as pillars of my strength and motivated me not to give up.
Q. Should judicial services aspirants primarily focus on court internships only?
A. Internships in Courts under practicing Counsels is indeed a very helpful thing for judiciary aspirants. The reason behind this would be that in theory what we learn in books especially the procedural aspects of law is very much different than what prevails in the practical scenario. So an aspirant who has himself/herself been through the practical scenario would in fact be in a better position as per my opinion. Practicing in Courts helped me a lot to learn various interesting aspects of litigation both of the Bar and the Bench, which I believe is great exposure for a judicial service aspirant.
Q. How should one transform his preparation for mains after qualifying prelims?
A. It is an important aspect which every aspirant must be extra careful. After the prelims exams are done, one must with utmost dedication start preparing for the mains, as we usually get 30 days or lesser time from prelims to mains exams. For preliminary exam one must focus primarily on Bare Acts, but dealing with mains an aspirant has to be equipped with Commentaries to understand what the law speaks. See the main thing is to understand the question, what is being asked from the aspirant to answer, this is of utmost importance. One might be well aware of the section and the related laws but because he/she could not understand what is being actually asked in the question, it might lead to wrong answers.
Another important aspect would be finishing the paper on time, I myself had the strategy that I must attempt all questions and write relevant, to the point answers and like i said earlier I used to practice solving previous year papers within 3 hours. Any aspirant can adopt this practice after their Prelims exams are done with. This would definitely boost one’s confidence even before sitting in the hall for the mains exam.
Q. How was your interview round like?
A. It was my very first attempt at the Judicial Service Exams, so I was very nervous initially. But my seniors told me to put up a confident and smiling face and to answer in brief and not beat around the bush. In case one is not aware of any answer he/she can politely say “I am unable to recall right now” and believe me that is more acceptable to the interview board rather than giving wrong answers and beating around the bush. So avoid that and give to the point and simple answers. My interview went smooth and I was really happy coming out from the room after my interview. I was asked questions on my life, my goals, hobbies, why I want to become a judge, questions on law were from topics like res judicata, Writs, Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution, Sections 32,33,50 of Indian Evidence Act, Injunctions, Transit Remand, Warrant etc.
Q. Do you have some good recommendations/references for preparation?
A. I think each and every book(reference/commentary) are good. Bare Act is a must for every law paper and along with it one or two Commentary or Reference books is more than enough. One should not tend to run behind loads of books and end up confused. Always opt for a simple book that helps you understand the law and clear the concepts.
I would share the list of books I personally followed for Judicial Preparations :
For Prelims : Universal’s Guide to Judicial Services
CrPC: Ratanlal & Dhirajlal, MP Tandon
Indian Contract Act : RK Bangia
Indian Partnership Act : RK Bangia
Torts : RK Bangia
CPC : CK Takwani
Evidence Act : Avtar Singh, Batuklal
IPC : Ratanlal & Dhirajlal, KD Gour
Hindu Laws : Paras Diwan
Mohammedan laws : Mulla
Transfer of Property Act : SN Shukla
Limitation Act : Sanjeev Tiwari
Constitution : JN Pandey
Q. Please tell us about the challenges you faced during the preparation and how you coped with it.
A. See life is all about challenges. I was into practice and then decided to opt for Judicial Service Exams after 4-5 years of University life, initially it was difficult to concentrate and get into the flow of things. There was an advent of corona virus which led to a pandemic, the vacancy advertisement got delayed, there was lockdown and hence an uncertain future that whether WB Judicial Service Exams would be conducted or not? Then there was the Amphan Super Cyclone. Life was throwing challenges at me, but I was determined to stop only after reaching my goal. I left Social Media interactions completely, I preferred meeting friends physically so as to reduce my tension, my friends, family and other fellow aspirants kept motivating me, also as I said earlier, I used to watch and listen motivational songs and videos so as to boost up my confidence. The road is always thorny, but as it is often said “A calm sea never made a skilled sailor”!
Q. Any word of advice that you would like to give our readers?
A. All those reading this interview and aspirants dreaming for Judicial Service Exams, always remember that there is no key or strategy that is ideal, it is you who have to work tremendously hard, show courage, persevere with utmost dedication, then only you will achieve the goal of Judicial Service. You are going to become a Judge, so the exams are never easy, right from prelims till the interview, every single exam is extremely tough, if not the toughest. So keep focussing on the concepts of law rather than just mugging up the lines, as we tend to forget if we learn without understanding. For mains remember “Brevity is the soul of wit”, so you must focus on writing to the point answers, relevant case laws and trying your level best to attempt all questions within the stipulated time. As for the interview/personality test, you must be confident, but not over confident, answer what you are being asked and not beat around the bush and in case you are unable to answer a simple polite “I don’t know, Sir/ I cannot recall Sir ” would suffice.
Most importantly please take care of your health, the times are tough, we have a pandemic situation, so follow the protocols and use this time to your fullest advantage and come out with flying colours. All the very best!