Punjab PCS-J flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Preliminary screening marks

In the Punjab PCS (Judicial Branch), preliminary examination marks are used only to shortlist candidates for the Mains and are not counted in the final merit list.

Negative marking rule

A wrong answer in the objective preliminary paper attracts a deduction fixed by the Commission as a fraction of that question's marks; an unanswered question attracts no deduction.

Shortlisting ratio

The Commission shortlists candidates for the Mains in a multiple of the advertised vacancies, applied category-wise, so the cut-off depends on vacancy numbers rather than a fixed pass percentage.

Punjab Courts Act, 1918

The statute constituting and organising civil courts in Punjab, prescribing classes of subordinate civil courts and their pecuniary and territorial jurisdiction; frequently tested in the preliminary and Mains.

East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949

Punjab rent-control statute governing eviction grounds, fair rent, and the jurisdiction of Rent Controllers and appellate authorities; a recurring topic in Punjab-specific papers.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

The statute that replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860, with effect from 1 July 2024, renumbering offences and definitions; current preliminary and Mains questions refer to it rather than the IPC.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

The statute replacing the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, with effect from 1 July 2024; it governs investigation, arrest, bail, trial procedure, and appeal in criminal matters.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

The statute replacing the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, effective 1 July 2024; it retains the framework of relevancy, proof, and presumptions while renumbering sections and updating electronic-evidence rules.

Doctrine of eclipse

A pre-constitutional law inconsistent with fundamental rights becomes dormant, not dead; it revives if the inconsistency is later removed by constitutional amendment, as explained in Bhikaji Narain Dhakras.

Basic structure doctrine

Held in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) that Parliament cannot amend the Constitution so as to destroy its essential features, such as judicial review and federalism.

Mains paper scheme

The Punjab PCS (Judicial) Mains consists of descriptive written papers on prescribed civil, criminal, and Punjab-specific law subjects, with the exact paper list and marks fixed by the current advertisement.

IRAC method

A problem-answer structure: Issue framed from the facts, Rule stated with section and precedent, Application of the rule to those facts, and Conclusion; it maximises marks for legal reasoning.

Res judicata

Section 11 CPC bars a subsequent suit on the same matter between the same parties where the earlier suit was decided on merits by a competent court, preventing multiplicity of litigation.

Constructive res judicata

Explanation IV to Section 11 CPC treats a ground of defence or attack that might and ought to have been raised in the earlier suit as barred in the later suit.

Order II Rule 2 CPC

Requires a plaintiff to include the whole of the claim arising from one cause of action; omitting part of it bars a later suit for the omitted portion, subject to leave of court.

Res sub judice

Section 10 CPC stays the trial of a later suit where the matter in issue is directly and substantially in issue in a previously instituted suit between the same parties pending in a competent court.

Culpable homicide vs murder

Culpable homicide is the genus and murder the species: murder requires a Clause 1-4 circumstance of Section 101 BNS, while culpable homicide not amounting to murder falls under the exceptions.

Section 103 BNS punishment

Murder is punishable under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita with death or imprisonment for life, and also with fine, replacing the corresponding Section 302 IPC provision.

Section 63 BSA electronic evidence

Electronic records may be proved by a certificate in the prescribed form identifying the record and the device, replacing the former Section 65B Indian Evidence Act certificate requirement.

Hostile witness

A witness permitted by the court to be cross-examined by the party calling him, under Section 154 of the Evidence Act (now Section 148 BSA), because he resiles from his earlier statement.

Doctrine of part performance

Section 53A Transfer of Property Act protects a transferee in possession who has performed his part of an unregistered contract, barring the transferor from enforcing rights against him.

Lis pendens

Section 52 Transfer of Property Act makes a transfer of property pending suit affecting that property subject to the final decree, so the transferee takes subject to the litigation outcome.

Specific performance amendment

The Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018 made specific performance the presumptive remedy for contracts, curtailed the discretion under Section 14, and inserted Section 20A on substituted performance.

Limitation for civil suit

Under the Limitation Act, 1963, a suit for money due on a contract is governed by Article 55 (three years from breach); suits for possession and recovery follow their specific articles.

Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887

Punjab statute governing record-of-rights, land revenue assessment and collection, partition of holdings, and revenue-officer jurisdiction; a core Punjab-specific Mains topic.

Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887

Punjab statute defining classes of tenants, their rights of occupancy, and grounds for ejectment; tested alongside the Land Revenue Act in Punjab-specific papers.

Viva voce weighting

Interview marks are added to the Mains total to prepare the final merit list; the interview assesses suitability for judicial service, including legal knowledge, composure, and integrity.

Restatement of Values of Judicial Life

A code adopted by the Supreme Court in 1997 listing standards of judicial conduct, including avoiding conduct that erodes public confidence and abstaining from gifts that could influence decisions.

Judicial activism vs overreach

Activism is legitimate judicial enforcement of rights and filling of legislative gaps; overreach is judicial action that usurps policy or legislative functions, and the board may ask the candidate to distinguish them.

Recusal

A judge withdraws from a case where there is a conflict of interest or a reasonable apprehension of bias, ensuring the impartiality that the judicial oath and public confidence require.

Presumption of innocence

An accused is presumed innocent until the prosecution proves guilt beyond reasonable doubt; the burden lies on the prosecution, and the benefit of doubt goes to the accused.

Court hierarchy in Punjab

Supreme Court, then the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh, then district and sessions courts, then subordinate civil and criminal courts constituted under the Punjab Courts Act, 1918.