Delhi Judicial Service (DJS)
Delhi Judicial Service Examination
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ExploreAbout this exam
The Delhi Judicial Service, or DJS, is the cadre of judicial officers who serve in the courts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The High Court of Delhi is the authority whose official website carries the notices, recruitment material and orders relating to this service; the site's public notices include, for example, an order concerning the suspension of an officer of the Delhi Judicial Service, and its recruitment pages host previous years' question papers and results. The DJS selection process is a competitive entry route into the subordinate judiciary for law graduates, and it is distinct from the Delhi Higher Judicial Service, whose own preliminary and mains examination notices appear separately on the same site. Written papers for judicial service recruitment in Delhi conventionally test civil law, criminal law, English and general knowledge, with current affairs woven through the papers; the profile used on this page splits those five areas evenly, but that split is an estimate and candidates should verify the actual paper structure against the current official notification. Preparation should be built around bare Acts and leading judgments for the two law papers, daily reading of a national newspaper for current affairs, and sustained writing practice in English, followed by timed answer-writing under exam conditions.
What you'll study
About Delhi Judicial Service (DJS) preparation
What exactly is the Delhi Judicial Service examination for?
It is the recruitment route into the Delhi Judicial Service, the cadre of judicial officers serving in Delhi's courts. The High Court of Delhi publishes the connected notices, recruitment results and previous years' question papers on its official website. Always read the current official notification before applying, because eligibility and paper structure are set there, not on third-party pages.
Does the High Court website state the number of questions or the duration?
No. The material available on the High Court of Delhi home page does not state a question count, paper duration, passing marks or fee for the Delhi Judicial Service examination. Treat any such figure you see elsewhere as unverified until you find it in the official notification for your recruitment year.
Which subjects should I study, and in what order?
The conventional written scheme covers civil law, criminal law, English and general knowledge, with current affairs cutting across all papers. Start with civil and criminal law, since they carry the most content and take longest to consolidate, then build a daily newspaper habit for current affairs, and run English and general knowledge practice in parallel rather than leaving them for the final weeks.
How difficult is the DJS compared with other judicial service exams?
Delhi attracts a large applicant pool relative to the number of vacancies, so competition is stiff and the cut-off tends to be high. The law papers reward precision on statutory provisions and recent judgments rather than broad general reading. Expect the difficulty to sit in accuracy and answer presentation, not in obscure topics outside the standard syllabus.
Can I retake the examination if I do not clear it?
The source material does not set out a retake policy or an age-based attempt limit for the Delhi Judicial Service. Eligibility, including any age ceiling and the number of attempts, is fixed by the notification for each recruitment cycle, so check that document for your year rather than relying on general assumptions about judicial service exams.
How should I use previous years' question papers?
The High Court of Delhi website hosts a Previous Years Question Papers section under Recruitment. Use those papers to map recurring themes, test your recall under time pressure and diagnose which subjects are actually costing you marks. Solve them after you have covered the syllabus once, not before, so that a poor first attempt does not distort your study plan.
What are the most common reasons candidates fail?
Three recurrences: neglecting English and general knowledge because the law papers feel more important; reading commentaries instead of the bare Act and leading judgments; and never writing a full answer under timed conditions. A fourth is ignoring current affairs until the last month, when legal developments in the news are exactly what the paper rewards.
Where do I find official notices and results?
The High Court of Delhi website carries Public Notices, Recruitment announcements, Recruitment Results and an updates panel on its home page. Notices there also cover practical matters such as court vacations and dress requirements for advocates appearing before the Court, so it is worth checking the site regularly rather than only when a result is expected.