Priya Chaudhary
The Supreme Court Judicial Clerkship examination is one of the most sought-after examinations for law students wanting to gain a practical experience of working with a Supreme Court judge. If you are one of them, we shall answer all your questions regarding this exam through Mr. Ashish Kundu who qualified the examination last year. Ashish is an LL.M. student at Delhi University and is also a practising advocate at the High Court of Punjab and Haryana.
Q1. Hi Ashish, we would first like to know when you set up your mind to appear for the clerkship examination and why.
A1. Hello! During my law school, I worked at various places. I assisted Prof. (Dr) Rangin P. Tripathy (presently, Registrar at NLU-Odisha) in his research on judicial review, worked with a Public Prosecutor at the High Court of Delhi, and interned at the Office of HMJ Anish Dayal at the High Court of Delhi, among other things. It was at the Office of Justice Dayal that I experienced the Bench from close proximity. I vividly remember the privilege of getting to walk down the corridor accessible to only the court staff, interacting with Justice Dayal in his retiring room after court hours, and just observing courtroom proceedings while making case notes or researching a matter.
Gaining practical legal knowledge and reading numerous matters daily was an unparalleled experience, to say the least. I got the opportunity of assisting Justice Dayal in an extradition matter and observing a judicial mind at work in person. Succinctly put, working at a judge’s office is the pinnacle of what a law student would want to experience. However, as it was just a month-long internship, opting for a year-long Judicial Clerkship (or Research-ship) felt like the most obvious choice after completing the law school. Fortunately, the Supreme Court also notified the scheme for recruitment of Law Clerk-cum-Research Assistants around the same time. It was then that I applied for the examination.
Q2. Considering that many candidates appear for the examination along with their academic commitments, how can they make the most of their time to prepare well?
A2. The syllabus of the Clerkship exam is pretty concise. In Paper-I, which exclusively deals with law, the syllabus is limited to Constitution, IPC, CrPC, Evidence, CPC, and latest legal developments. Fortunately, these subjects are dealt with in the initial semesters of a lot of law schools. Therefore, a candidate is only required to peruse the Bare Acts in detail and refer to their class notes to brush up their concepts. For latest legal developments, LiveLaw should be a candidate’s go-to source. Their precisely curated Monthly Digests are helpful and referring to landmark judgments from the portal should help in preparing for the exam.
Paper-II, which is a new introduction to the Clerkship examination, deals with three items, that are, making case note, preparing research memo, and answering an analytical question. These questions would test a candidate on their comprehension skills and brevity. The only way for a candidate to prepare well for this section is to extensively read case files during their legal internships, read judgments (say, through LiveLaw), and improve their writing skills. As much as we idolise the courtroom theatrics, the writing skills of a lawyer are what sets him apart. Therefore, not only would improving these skills help in better preparation for the Clerkship examination, but it should also help the candidate in utilising the abilities later in their professional lives.
Q3. What, according to you, should be the right time to start the preparation?
A3. I believe that the preparation strategy and preparation time are subjective. A candidate who is already preparing for any legal competitive exam, say judiciary or public prosecutor, would find preparing the Clerkship exam a cakewalk. However, on the other hand, someone who is yet to start with dedicated preparation should allot time according to their convenience and memory of legal concepts beforehand. Speaking from my experience, I had not extensively prepared for any competitive exam earlier. I had only appeared for CLAT (PG) 2023 a few months ago, and I had to revise whatever I prepared for the exam. Therefore, it took me a month’s time to go through CPC additionally (because CLAT PG does not ask questions on CPC) and sit for the Clerkship examination.
Q5. What are the roles and responsibilities of a judicial clerk?
A5. Judicial Clerk, also known as Law Clerk-cum-Research Assistant in Supreme Court or Legal Researcher in High Courts, is responsible for making notes of the cases that would be listed before the hon’ble judge the next day and performing legal research on relevant statutes, case laws, and judicial precedents. This research could be sought by the concerned judge for the purpose of a case law that they are dealing with and then be relied upon to adjudicate a matter, so it is an important assignment. Other than this, a judicial clerk could be assigned auxiliary tasks too, such as, preparing speeches for the judges, analysing the compendiums submitted by the counsels in the court, or proofreading draft judgments before they are finally pronounced in the court.
Q6. As a former judicial intern, what are the differences you observed in the day-to-day work of a judicial intern and a law clerk?
A6. Judicial interns are often engaged to assist law clerks in the courts. Usually, the law clerks serve as an intermediary between the judge and the interns. So, there might be offices where clerks play a more active role compared to the judicial interns. At the same time, there might be offices where the judge treats the interns and clerks alike in terms of assignment of work.
However, a major difference between a judicial intern and a law clerk would be in the level of accountability. A law clerk, being a court staff and attached with a judge’s office, is directly answerable to the judge concerned and is accordingly remunerated. Whereas, an intern, despite doing the same work, is devoid of any such accountability and perks.
Q7. Tell us a bit about the interview round. While there might be no sure-shot formula, what can a candidate keep in mind while appearing for it?
A7. The interview is the final stage in the Clerkship examination. After having cleared the written exams, the Supreme Court Registry uploads the list of shortlisted candidates on their website. These candidates are then expected to upload their preferences of judge in an order. Accordingly, the candidates are called for the interview. As to the approach, I would like to borrow your statement that “there is no sure-shot formula”. The interview process depends on multitude of factors such as inter alia the expectations of the interviewer from the candidate, their own experiences in the past, and their requirements in the office.
These factors determine the kind of questions that the interviewer can put forth. The questions could be technical so as to test the grasp of legal concepts, based on contemporary legal developments as to check a candidate’s awareness of the same, or even open-ended to enquire about a candidate’s motivation behind pursuing clerkship and their future ambitions. However, I would suggest is to approach the interview rounds confidently and trust the examination preparation. A lawyer, irrespective of how experienced he becomes, would always stay a student of law. Therefore, I believe it would not be contemptuous to simply plead ignorance and apologise for not knowing an answer which is asked for by the interviewer.
Q8. How does a Supreme Court Clerkship differ from a High Court clerkship?
A8. The two Clerkships are more or less the same in terms of how they operate. The clerks at both the levels are supposed to make daily case notes and research different legal issues. However, the divergence comes during the process of recruitment. Unlike the Supreme Court, where a candidate would find two routes – examination and preferential, the High Courts necessarily select their clerks from a pool of candidates who directly apply either to the Registry or to the offices of the individual judges. Succinctly put, the major difference is that the High Courts do not conduct an examination process to select their clerks unlike the Supreme Court. Next is the difference in the remunerations offered – a Supreme Court Law Clerk is paid 80,000 rupees per month, whereas the pay varies for each High Court’s clerks – 65,000 rupees per month for Delhi High Court and 50,000 rupees per month for P&H High Court, to name a few. The pay does not vary according to the office that a clerk is attached with. Be it the Registry or the Office of a judge, the pay would be the same at a court.
Q9. The new pattern for the Judicial Clerkship examination has recently been released which introduced a new section. Would you walk us through it?
A9. Paper-II of the Judicial Clerkship examination is a recent introduction. As I said earlier, there are 3 questions – making case note, preparing research memo, and answering analytical question. For Part 1, that is, making case note, candidates would be expected to peruse the entire case file and chronologically enlist the facts, the issues raised, and the contention of the parties. Special care should be taken while mentioning the dates of incidents, the forum where the parties previously approached (along with the judgment and ratio), and the documents appended with the petition, if any.
Part 2, which deals with preparation of research memo, would necessarily require a candidate to answer a proposition after making reference to the voluminous material which is provided as a part of the proposition itself. Candidates will have to go through the material, identify the relevant statutory provisions or case laws, and frame a research memo accordingly.
Part 3, that is, the analytical question, has been introduced for the first time in 2024-2025 Scheme and was not present when I appeared for the examination last year. However, after looking at the sample paper provided on the Supreme Court of India website, I believe an attempt has been made by the court to test not just the comprehension skills but also understand the candidates’ analytical or jurisprudential approach towards legal questions.
Q10. Finally, how does the experience of a law clerk best contribute to one’s career graph ahead?
A10. A law clerk is involved in numerous cases daily. The cases can reach up to 20-25 per clerk per day. Now, imagine perusing these many cases and making notes daily for a period of one year (and longer if one wishes to extend their assignment). This is, in my opinion, more workload than that of a young litigation lawyer. This experience should come handy later when a law clerk would progress in their professional life. Be it litigation, in-house, or law firm, strong work ethics are a need of the hour. This is where the long working hours of the clerkship and year-long attachment would prove to be fruitful.
Secondly, something that I have observed during all my litigation internships and more so during my judicial internship is the ability to identify the nuances of law. After having worked with a judicial mind for a while, one would, as a clerk, develop a certain level of understanding of law that would help them distinguish themselves from the rest. Which facts are more relevant than others? What factors weigh on a judge’s mind? How would a judge approach a particular case? There could be multiple such questions; however, after working closely with a judge, one would have a deeper understanding of them. Accordingly, these qualities would greatly help one’s career graph ahead.
Lastly, if anyone wishes to opt for higher education from a university abroad, then clerkship would prove to be of great help. Having clerkship experience on one’s Resume provides a degree of credibility to an applicant’s acumen. Consequently, law schools would appreciate admitting students who have had past experience as a law clerk in one of the constitutional courts of a country.