Interview of Shivani Garg, PCS(J) Rank 1 & HCS(J) Rank 2.

• Congratulations for your achievement Ms. Shivani. Could you please introduce yourself for our readers?

Thank you so much. I am Shivani Garg, alumni of Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab, 2018. I have completed my senior secondary education from district Ludhiana, Punjab which is also my native place and state respectively. I developed interest in Law in my 12^th standard and started preparing along with my boards for CLAT examination. The aim that I have to appear for judicial service examinations was made during my law school. With the right guidance of seniors and support from my loving family, I have cleared Punjab and Haryana Judicial Service examination with Rank 1 and 2 in the first attempt itself.  

• What motivated you to choose judicial services as your career option?

First of all Judicial services by their very constitution are independent in their working style, if we compare them with other organs of the state. Secondly, in my university, I used to read judgments both for my curriculum and extracurricular (moots, debates etc) activities. The interest that developed as a consequence helped me a great deal to decide what to do after Law school. Thirdly, the work of the of a Judicial officer allows him/her to work at grass root levels and give decisions on matters crucial to people of all sections of society particularly the vulnerable ones. Lastly in my opinion, the subordinate courts are actually the “Frontline courts” which form the bulwark of Justice delivery system in India. I envisioned myself as a judicial officer because I wanted to add meaningful contribution to the lives of people who come to my court for Justice.

• 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?

The Law school for me was just not a 5 year degree experience. It was the foundation of the success story that formulated in 2020 Judiciary results.  As, I discussed earlier, the activities in Law School shaped my choice of career, what I am going to do professionally and what new light of knowledge/contribution I am going to bring out in the world. In the university, we had a great faculty and a streamlined course structure which was conducive for me to prepare for judicial service examinations. In addition, the Law School provided me a lot of opportunities like moots court competitions, committees etc which honed up my skills for competitive exams.

• How did you strategize your preparation for the preliminary and mains examination of HCS/PCS Judicial Services?

For preliminary exam, I solved the book of Singhal’s for past year question papers for all subjects. I would like to emphasize that preliminary exams of judiciary are important as they are the first filter for judicial service aspirants by the commission. In my case Haryana Judiciary prelims exam was about to be conducted in a very short time after my graduation, so I had to make sure that my preparation time was utilized to the last second.

The other thing which I think defined my preparation was persistence and order. I made my own precise notes of bare acts, case laws, amendments and then further streamlined them in just 5 pages for each subject. I revised them multiple times (not less than 4) and that helped me immensely in revising the vast law syllabus in a very short duration.

While the memorization and revision strategy was adequate for law subjects, I made sure that I gave 2 hours each to the language section of both Punjab judicial services and Haryana judicial services before their mains exams daily without fail. Language papers are very crucial in determining the final marks and overall selection of a candidate and must be given due importance in time schedule. Lastly, I joined a local coaching institute which provided me a test series to evaluate my knowledge and weed out mistakes.

• Can you share the list of books and other materials that you went through while preparing for PCS and HCS Judicial Services?

 For Haryana and Punjab Judicial services my book choices for major law subjects are as follows

• Indian Penal Code:- P.S.A Pillai
• Criminal Procedure Code:- R.V. Kelkar
• Civil Procedure Code Takwani
• Hindu law :- Poonam Pradhan Saxena
• Muslim law:- Aqil Ahmed
• Transfer of Property Act:- R.K Sinha
• Indian Contract Act:- Avtar Singh
• Indian Evidence Act:- M. Monir

I comprehensively made notes from the books along with my class notes which helped me a great deal in revision before the mains examinations. I did not refer to “dukkis” or any other material during my preparation.

• Do you suggest that preparation for preliminary and mains examination should be done separately or should be done collectively for the judicial examination as a whole?

One thing that must be fixed in a candidate’s mind is that mains and prelims examination of any judiciary exam are not watertight compartments. They are complimentary and most of the times overlap with each other. A candidate has to remember some of the very important sections for mains exam eventually so it’s better to prepare in a wholesome way right from the start. Law subjects should be studied comprehensively as a whole covering the entire concepts, case laws and sections.

• 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?

A huge number of candidates apply for judicial officer post in the state services. It was clear in my mind that I have to stick to my strategy and not give adherence to what people are doing or what they have to say about me or my preparation. To diffuse extra pressure buildup due to exam, I made sure that my preparation was not a monotonous one. I used to hang out with my friends from non-legal background during weekends or whenever I found time. There was a time slot kept exclusively for my leisure activities like badminton, evening walks etc. Lastly, in my case, I was in the top 9 candidates when the results for HCS(J) were declared but due to a writ, a stay was put on the interviews by the Supreme Court. That time of uncertainty was hard but with the support of my family, I eventually got over that tide.

• 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?

First of all, the interview may happen immediately after the mains, let us say in 2 months or it may happen after a long delay. The candidate must keep his law subjects thoroughly revised as questions usually are asked from them after general introduction with the interview board. Secondly, Mock interviews help a great deal in preparing a candidate for judiciary interviews.

Thirdly, the core behind a successful judiciary interview is the confidence of the candidate. One should be able to state his point with brevity and pin point articulation. Fourth, one must not be nervous in front of the board. That hugely impacts the perception of the board. My interview lasted for 20-25 minutes on both (PCS & HCS) occasions and I made sure that I gave them with sense of confidence and calmness which eventually worked in my favour.

• If the interviewer becomes adamant at something or at any question, how should the candidate come out of that situation?

Confidence and humbleness are the two virtues that help you the most while facing the interview board. If one does not know the answer or can’t remember it, then one should not play round games with the interviewer but accept it with humbleness. At the interview stage they are most importantly checking your personality as the knowledge of law has been tested thoroughly in the mains. The interviewer becomes adamant only when you go beating around the bush.

• You have already achieved your primary target of becoming a judge, what is that drives you forward now? 

The ability to deliver justice in the first place ignited the fire within to become a judicial officer. The force that drives me now is the application of law and challenges that I will face while dispensing justice in reality. Secondly, every day presents a new challenge and chaos which is unforeseen. I believe in improving my capacities each day and exploring new possibilities to deal with the demanding situations when they arise. I would love to read books apart from law (for example literature) that will allow me to understand the society in a more refined manner. Lastly, I believe that one has to stay motivated not only for work but with aspects related to life as well.

• The team members of Judgesaab congratulate you again for your achievement and wish you all the best for your future endeavors. 

Thank you so much.