- Kudos for your achievement Gaurav. Kindly accept heartiest felicitations on behalf of the team of Judge Saab and all our readers. Could you please introduce yourself further for the benefit of our readers?
Thank you for your wishes. I am Gaurav Goyal, resident of Patiala and I have done my schooling from Budha Dal Public School. I cleared CLAT in 2011 and completed my graduation in 2016. Afterwards, I appeared in various judicial examinations before cracking Delhi Judicial Services Examination in 2018 with tenth rank.
- What galvanised you to choose judicial services as your career option?
I chose judicial services as a career option because I was very much inspired right from class 12th that I have to become a judge and I have to help the people of this nation in justice delivery process. My parents were also a huge inspiration and always propelled me to keep my eyes fixed on my target. These are some of the reasons in gist, why I opted for judicial services as a career option.
- Can you please tell us how your experience at the law school was? What role did the curriculum at your college play in your achievement and how it nurtured your zeal to go for judiciary examination?
Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Patiala, elevated my zeal to go for judicial examinations as many students of my batch used to prepare for the services. My experience at law school was made rich and diverse by my batch mates who came from different parts of the country. I used to interact with them quite often on the legal issues and Social-political condition of the country. Another factor which helped me in cracking Delhi Judicial Services Examination was that in my law school everybody used to be updated with the news which motivated me and helped me in keeping myself updated about the legal and the judicial happenings around the country. I sincerely thank my alma-matter for this wonderful stay of five years at the university.
- Distractions and failures being the indispensable weeds in the preparation process, can you please share with the aspiring candidates, some strategies and tips to stay focused in the hard times?
It is quite natural to face distractions while preparing for the examination. At times, it becomes very hard to focus on your studies.It feels that one’s world is about to reach towards an end. But one should know that there is always a ray of hope at the end of the dark tunnel. One should always keep in his mind that there will be an end to this journey of preparation. The end result would lead him to the chair of the judicial officer that he had been aiming for throughout his preparation.
- How did you strategize your preparation for the preliminary and mains examination of Judicial Services?
In Delhi Judicial Services examination, one needs to apply different strategies for the preparation of the preliminary and the mains examination. In the preliminary examination,one majorly needs to focus on the bare acts. Owning a command over the bare acts would then enable you to write the mains examination confidently.Also, this would give you an upper hand over the candidates who had barely managed to crack the prelims by skimming through the bare acts. In most of the judicial examinations, mains examination tests your theoretical and applied knowledge.I would advise the candidates to go through various standard books which are prescribed by several law schools as well as by various judicial academies for the preparation.
- Can you share the list of books and other materials that you went through while preparing for Delhi Judicial Services?
In my opinion, the best books for judicial preparation would be Kelkar for CrPC, Takwani for CPC, KD Gaur for IPC. Constitutional law can be done from D.D.Basu. Small books or “dukkis” as we call are useful for smaller acts. My advice to aspirants will be to go over the standard books again and again rather than reading 10 different books on the same subject.
- As you know that, prelims exams are very tough, as candidates from other states also appear in them. What strategy would you suggest for scoring good marks? Memory tricks, if any?
There are memory tricks for prelims likeone should be very well aware of the provisions of the statutes. One should have read the bare acts thoroughly at least one to two months before giving the examination. The best way is to solve MCQs from various books like Singhal’s, Universal before sitting in the actual examination. The memory trick for judiciary pre examination preparation is only that one has to keep on revising before the exam.One should give this examination in a concentrated state of mind and one’s preparation should be up to the mark.
- As you know that revision is the main factor for success in any judiciary exam, what advice would you like to give to the candidates regarding the same?
Yes, revision plays a very essential role in one’s preparation. It always acts as a deciding factor during a situation of make or break while appearing for Delhi Judicial Services. Surely, revision becomes a taxing exercise for candidates who have appeared several times for the mains examination. It does become boring after sometime. But one has to go again and again through the same bare acts and the books because only then one would be able to write the paper with his full potential, memory and intellect.
- During the preparation, a candidate might go through self-doubt due to the stiff competition around him/her. How did you handle such a negative situation? What are your views regarding the removal of this self-doubt?
There are a lot of self-doubts which may come into the candidate’s mind but it is quite natural. One should not get disturbed because of them. One should not have negative thoughts about failure, distractions or depression while preparing for the examination. They can be successfully dealt with by having a positive approach and attitude.A lot of doubts, regarding clearing the examination, cloud the minds of the candidates. They can be brushed away by watching the interviews of the successful candidates.One should believe in himself that if they had done it then he can do it as well. After all, they were also law graduates at some point of their lives.
- What were your hobbies during the time of preparation for DJS?
During the times of preparation for the judicial examinations, I used to do exercise to keep myself fit and healthy. I also used to watch football (Premier League) on TV. There was not much time left for pursuing hobbies but i managed to squeeze in time to watch Premier League :).
- As after a lot of hard work, a candidate reaches the interview stage and is very anxious about how to clear it. What do you think is the best way to ace the interview?
One has to be very confident while appearing before the interview panel. They do not test you on your textual knowledge. Basically, they check your ability whether you would be able to handle the courtroom with grace or not. The primary reason being that the position which you would get would be that of a judge. Thus, one should be able to handle 200 to 300 people efficiently who pass through any judicial court in a day.
- If the interviewer becomes adamant at something or at any question, how should the candidate come out of that situation?
One should stay humble throughout the interview. If you know the answer then you should give it to the best of your knowledge. Otherwise, you should just apologise to them and tell them that you will go back and verify your knowledge to be correct in the future.
- You have already achieved your primary target of becoming a judge, but the long-term target in your career is yet far. What is that drives you forward now?
The primary target was of being a judge that has been completed. But the long-term target is to give justice to several people who come into my court. My long-term target is also to keep on providing justice to people over the course of time which my parents had dreamt of as well. After all, I have become a ‘Nyayadhish’ and I would try my best to do justice with my post as well.
- Lastly, the whole team of Judge Saab would like to congratulate you again on your tremendous success.
Thank you very much. I would like to congratulate the team of Judge Saab as well for bringing the judicial aspirants closer to their goals of becoming judicial officers through this commendable initiative. I believe that with its torch of knowledge, Judgesaab would guide the judicial aspirants towards the right path leading to their respective goals.