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Law Optional for UPSC - Key Takeaways

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  • See, Law optional is not bad or humongous per se!
    It all depends on how well you did your subjects in your law school or whether you have the required grasp over the necessary topics. If you do understand the basic concepts and how exactly to prepare law optional for UPSC, it's not that difficult to prepare, keeping current affairs in mind.
    Hope to see even better result from law optional next year :smiley:
    Sir, UP mein civil judge hoon. Toh grasp (though not expertise) toh hai hi law pe. But i guess everyone has their own opinions. Goodluck to you too.
    @plain_dosa01 do you get enough time to prepare while in this service?

    Also, is it feasible to prepare for both CSE and lower judiciary simultaneously?
    @abhi44 : Joining is yet to come. Delhi Judiciary also took around 4-5 months to issue joining letters.

    It is definitely possible to prepare for lower judiciary with CSE. In fact if one is targeting states like UP, Bihar, Jharkhand or Rajasthan its advisable to prepare for both as the judicial services exam is easier than UPSC. But the most crucial problem is that the dates sometimes dont align and you end up having both the exams at the same time. I recall in 2016 the Mains for UPSC and UP judiciary happened in the same weeks of December . In 2017 the UPSC mains was from 28th oct and judiciary interview was in first week of October.

    Another serious glitch is that the judicial services are not conducted every year. In UP the exam happened in 2006, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016. In delhi the exam happened in 2015 and then in 2018. Uttarakhand also same story.
    Some states like MP and Rajasthan are little bit more regular. So if you are a senior aspirant (like me) I'd suggest to forego one attempt of UPSC and go full throttle for the civil judge if the vacancies have been announced in your state. One attempt is generally sufficient for JS. Or go for APO which is even easier and then give CSE. With APO you can later appear for HJS. Goodluck.
    I think after the last year SC ruling, even lower judiciary people can appear for HJS after 7 years of experience.
  • That ruling gave directions to Delhi HC. For UP and most other states, writ has been filed, lets see.
  • Can the Lower Judiciary or Higher Judiciary guys be promoted to High Court Judiciary, or it's a different job altogether?
  • Can the Lower Judiciary or Higher Judiciary guys be promoted to High Court Judiciary, or it's a different job altogether?
    Technically, yes.

    But, as for the lower judiciary, it's practically impossible. A lower judiciary officer takes 15-20 years just to become CJM. They have lean chances of becoming a District Judge. So, practically no chances for High Court.

    For Higher Judiciary, there are good chances if you happen to qualify at young age and have good job record.
  • That ruling gave directions to Delhi HC. For UP and most other states, writ has been filed, lets see.
    What are the chances @plain_dosa01?

    Does lower judiciary in other states luke UP and Bihar have viable chances of being eligible for HJS in near future?
  • Can the Lower Judiciary or Higher Judiciary guys be promoted to High Court Judiciary, or it's a different job altogether?
    Technically, yes.

    But, as for the lower judiciary, it's practically impossible. A lower judiciary officer takes 15-20 years just to become CJM. They have lean chances of becoming a District Judge. So, practically no chances for High Court.

    For Higher Judiciary, there are good chances if you happen to qualify at young age and have good job record.
    Thanks buddy!
  • That ruling gave directions to Delhi HC. For UP and most other states, writ has been filed, lets see.
    What are the chances @plain_dosa01?

    Does lower judiciary in other states luke UP and Bihar have viable chances of being eligible for HJS in near future?
    Dont know man. People in my batch (whatsapp group banaya hai) are expecting it to happen before they get the 7 year seniority. Lets see.
  • I am from an NLU too, writing this year's prelims. Law optional becomes a lot simpler if -

    1. you break down the subjects into small sub topics (preferably article/section wise) and make micro (not short) notes on them from whatever you're referring;
    2. you have the last 5 years papers with you and you're able to observe the high yield areas among the said sub-topics where you put more of an effort;
    3. you refer to the bare act first for all topics so that you don't get lost in the sea of fat books;
    4. you make case lists for memory intensive topics in paper II (IPC, Contracts, Torts).
    5. International law in paper I is the real tough nut for non law students to crack. One hack I found to understand difficult law topics was to read Oxford India Short Introductions on specific topic. For Constitution, which is a weak point for me, I read 130 pages from 'A Short Into to Indian Consti'. It has been written very simply, and there are a series of such short intros for wherever you get stuck in.

    [https://www.amazon.in/Indian-Constitution-Oxford-India-Introductions/dp/0198075383]

    For good guidance, you could also refer to these blogs from toppers (which people have sorta forgotten about :P), they have explained properly what needs to be done -

    http://rijubafna.com/author/avi/
    http://thecivilservicesdream.blogspot.in/2010/06/preparing-for-law-main.html
    https://abdaal.wordpress.com/2015/07/19/my-tryst-with-the-civil-services-exam-ii-law-as-an-optional/ (I personally feel that Abdaal's strategy was the most nuanced and doable)

    and this miracle guy who took last year's beating to still make it -
    http://www.insightsonindia.com/2017/08/07/law-optional-strategy-pratik-tayal-air-92-cse-2016/
    The case material of DU helps in having a ready repository and list of cases in all the topics.

    Thanks for your suggestions!
    Thank you :smile: Where can I access it from?

    Click on "Content Material" to check the case list. I have used this case list along with the few extra ones I did in my law school. It's more than enough, I hope!

    http://www.du.ac.in/du/index.php?page=law-2
  • I am from an NLU too, writing this year's prelims. Law optional becomes a lot simpler if -

    1. you break down the subjects into small sub topics (preferably article/section wise) and make micro (not short) notes on them from whatever you're referring;
    2. you have the last 5 years papers with you and you're able to observe the high yield areas among the said sub-topics where you put more of an effort;
    3. you refer to the bare act first for all topics so that you don't get lost in the sea of fat books;
    4. you make case lists for memory intensive topics in paper II (IPC, Contracts, Torts).
    5. International law in paper I is the real tough nut for non law students to crack. One hack I found to understand difficult law topics was to read Oxford India Short Introductions on specific topic. For Constitution, which is a weak point for me, I read 130 pages from 'A Short Into to Indian Consti'. It has been written very simply, and there are a series of such short intros for wherever you get stuck in.

    [https://www.amazon.in/Indian-Constitution-Oxford-India-Introductions/dp/0198075383]

    For good guidance, you could also refer to these blogs from toppers (which people have sorta forgotten about :P), they have explained properly what needs to be done -

    http://rijubafna.com/author/avi/
    http://thecivilservicesdream.blogspot.in/2010/06/preparing-for-law-main.html
    https://abdaal.wordpress.com/2015/07/19/my-tryst-with-the-civil-services-exam-ii-law-as-an-optional/ (I personally feel that Abdaal's strategy was the most nuanced and doable)

    and this miracle guy who took last year's beating to still make it -
    http://www.insightsonindia.com/2017/08/07/law-optional-strategy-pratik-tayal-air-92-cse-2016/
    The case material of DU helps in having a ready repository and list of cases in all the topics.

    Thanks for your suggestions!
    Thank you :smile: Where can I access it from?

    Click on "Content Material" to check the case list. I have used this case list along with the few extra ones I did in my law school. It's more than enough, I hope!

    http://www.du.ac.in/du/index.php?page=law-2
    Thanks again, this is a life saver :smile:
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