Viva Voce / Oral Interview
What is tested
Personality, judicial temperament and practical knowledge. The board is testing whether you can sit on the bench, not whether you can recite sections.
Standards and duties
- Conduct is measured against the Restatement of Values of Judicial Life (1997) and the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct (2002): independence, propriety, equality, competence, diligence.
- Practical duties: production of an arrested person within 24 hours (Article 22(2)); remand; recording of confessions; inquest; reasoned bail orders; custody and disposal of case property.
- Answers should show firmness with courtesy. On matters pending before a court, decline politely to comment.
- Himachal-specific knowledge helps: revenue terminology (Kanungo, Tehsildar, record of rights), rent control grounds, and the district judiciary's e-filing workflow.
Worked example
Question: a case is listed before you in which your nephew's firm is a party. The answer is disclosure and recusal, recorded in the order sheet with reasons; there is no discretion to continue merely because the matter is at the admission stage. A follow-up may ask whether the recusal must be in writing - yes, with reasons, so the cause list can be corrected.
Traps
- Bluffing on a provision you do not know; say what you know and stop.
- Criticising a judgment or a colleague.
- Answering only the legal aspect and ignoring the ethical dimension.