January 4, 2019

Interview of Mr. Siddhant Mishra (Civil Judge) on Topic ‘How to crack Judiciary exams’.

By Indian Legal Solution Interviews 2 Comments

Introduction :

Mr. Siddhant Mishra

Currently, he is working as a Civil Judge on Probation in Odisha Judicial Service. He has completed his bachelor in law from School of Law, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar and Masters in Constitutional Law from NLU Odisha.

He is a student of BBA LL.B, batch 2017 and LL.M Batch of 2018.

On 26^th December 2017 results of Odisha Judicial Service was out and his name was on the list. Yes, this story is neither fictional nor lie. Today we’re going to read the journey of that man who cracked the prestigious judicial service exam (Dream of almost all law students) in the same year when he completed his BBA LLB and while he was continuing with the LL.M course.

From the very beginning of this Interview, it is a request to our readers who all are reading this Interview ‘To please stop fearing that it takes years to crack judicial service exams.’

Q1. From the very beginning, you wanted to pursue law or it was just an accidental decision?

No, it was not accidental or something like that. I always wanted to pursue law as a career but I admit that in the initial phase of my law school career, I was among those people who wandered within different career alternatives in law, and back then I wanted to become a lawyer (to be honest). But during my internships, I could very well figure out that my personality and ethos may not be suitable for becoming a lawyer.

I was always being told about the glory of the judicial service as a career alternative (this is where I principally differ because judicial service is much more than just a “career alternative”) by my family members (much like all Indian families do, if you’re a law student).

Gradually with the passage of time, I came in touch with people from judicial fraternity and that gave shape to my ambition, as it stands today. This was one serious turning point of my life, which is where I wanted to see myself as a part of the judicial system.

Q2. You’re from a family with Legal Background?

No, I do not belong from a family having legal background. My maternal grandfather is a lawyer but his advocacy was never an impact on me. It was completely my independent decision to pursue law as a career.

He added furthermore,

“To the ones reading this interview, I want to make use of this platform to reach out to them and very categorically let them know, that judicial service is much more than just a fascination of cracking a competitive exam. It is way beyond all the perks and facilities that come along with the service. Its gravity stands at a taller footing than just an exam you may appear due to family or peer pressure, or to make yourself financially secure with the tag of a ‘government officer’ shining bright as a feather in your cap!

I have come across people who do not have their hearts and souls into this and yet choose to write this exam. To them, I DISSUADE, because I know they are meant for something better than this, something they have their hearts and souls invested in, something in which they can excel without even feeling that they have been trying too hard. I want them to find that spark in the career that they believe is specifically meant for them. Because, as opposed to a ‘job’, there is a reason why this is called a ‘service’. Unless the candidate/aspirant does not place his belief and priority in the judicial system, it will be very easy for him to lose sight of what this service demands from him. Because it is one thing to crack the exam and it is another thing to survive and serve in this service.

A wise man whom I look up to had once told me- “In judiciary, one has to live like a saint and work like a horse”. So, I want the candidates/aspirants to be doubly sure before they enter judiciary or pursue it as their goal.”

Q3. Tell us about your magical preparation method by which you cracked judiciary in very less time?

I started my preparation for Judiciary from 9^th Semester. First of all, let me clarify that there is no specific method of preparation required for clearing this exam. But it is really important to sharpen your fundamentals right from the time the subjects are taught to you in law school. I believe that helped me a lot. It saved me a lot of time and effort when I started preparing for the exam. All I had to do was expand my horizon and supplement my knowledge with more case laws and practice the art of reproducing them in a more lucid way. But for the ones who didn’t concentrate enough on the subjects during their LL.B days, they need to work harder and walk that extra mile.

Proceeding further, I did not take up professional coaching during my preparation. I used to take guidance of a mentor near my house who used to guide 30-40 aspirants to crack the exam. Despite being an old man in his 80s, he has a success rate which is unparalleled and is reputed to produce chunk of judicial officers in the State. Slowly, I got involved in the whole process and here I am!.

Q4. Which book you referred and how many hours you put daily for your preparation?

Look, no book is good enough for preparation and no book is really bad. Every person has his unique taste and preference. So one can’t really put them in a watertight compartment. I request the candidates to stick to the books they have been referring since their LL.B days or as per the advices of their coaching mentors. Because I cannot ask a person following ‘S.N Mishra for CrPC’ to switch to R.V Kelkar overnight! And kindly do not get confused with ‘n’ number of advices given by ‘n’ number of people. Just follow the books who have already reposed your faiths in.

Regarding study hours, there is no fixed hours of study or for that matter a thumb rule. Of course, it requires a lot of hard work and dedication, but one cannot really quantify and reduce them to specific hours of study. The only rule which I followed during my preparation was that- whatever was being taught in the coaching on that particular day, I had a motto to finish and cover up at least that much of portion from the exam point of view on that very day. Keeping backlogs really become the only hurdle between you and your dreams.

Q5. Any suggestions from your side to our reader regarding Judiciary Preparation?

For every competitive exam and more so for judicial services exam, continuity is the most important virtue amongst all.

Continuity and consistency in studies are the only guidelines which I followed and would like to advise judiciary aspirants to follow. Studying one particular day for 8 hours and taking a day off on the following day would serve no purpose. Commitment and continuity should be maintained. Set a target daily and try to complete that every single day.

Also, complete your topic like that you don’t have to revise it again and again. (Though revision is as important as preparation but here I am referring to the mindset you should adopt while preparing). Study not just for exams but to educate yourself and to get whole feel to being a judge, sitting on that chair and having the confidence to counter the arguments of advocates. (at least I had that feeling in the back of my mind while I was preparing!)

Interviewer :

Your Admin (Raghvendra Mishra)