West Bengal Judicial Service-Direct Recruitment for District Judge (Entry level)-2022

HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA,
APPELLATE SIDE

NO. 781- RG Dated : Calcutta, the 7th day of February, 2023

EXAMINATION FOR DIRECT RECRUITMENT TO THE CADRE OF
DISTRICT JUDGE (ENTRY LEVEL) FROM MEMBERS OF THE BAR
IN THE WEST BENGAL JUDICIAL SERVICE FOR THE YEAR 2022.

Applications are invited from eligible Indian citizens for selection of the District Judge, as referred to in clause (a) or sub-rule (1) of rule 24 of the West Bengal Judicial (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2004 as per time schedule fixed by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Malik Mazhar Sultan’s case.
A Competitive Examination will be held in Kolkata, West Bengal for selection of the eligible candidates to the above posts. It shall be conducted in 03 (three) phases.

In the first phase, there will be a preliminary test consisting of objective type questions of 50 (fifty) marks. Each question of such preliminary test shall carry 02 (two) marks. In case of each wrong answer, there will be negative marking of 02 (two) marks. The duration of the preliminary test will be 01 (one) hour.

The preliminary test will be taken on the basis of Current Affairs, General Awareness and Law papers (i.e. Paper II – V), as prescribed for written examination (Second Phase).

Preliminary Test will be conducted through OMR sheets in duplicate.

The minimum marks required to appear in the written test (the Second Phase), is 50% with negative marking in the preliminary test. Successful candidates shall be allowed to appear at the written examination in the Second Phase.

Note – I : The marks obtained in the preliminary test would not be carried forward
in the written test in the second phase.

The written test in the Second Phase consists of 05 (five) papers (Paper I – V mentioned below). Each paper carries one hundred marks. Time for giving answer is 03 (three) hours for each paper. Total marks for written test in Second Phase is 500 (five hundred).

The answer scripts shall be evaluated by adopting evaluation method. The qualifying marks on each subject will be 40 (forty) and in addition to that candidates must obtain 50% on aggregate in order to be successful in the written test in the Second Phase and further 100 (one hundred) marks are reserved for Viva-Voce/ Personality Test. Total 300 (three hundred) marks in aggregate i.e. 50% of the total marks six hundred (600) will be the qualifying marks for being empanelled in the panel for being appointed to the post of District Judge (Entry Level) by way of Direct Recruitment from among the members of the Bar, in view of the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India passed in Writ Petition (C) No. 490 of 2007 (Hemani Malhotra – Vs. – High Court of Delhi) prohibiting fixation of any bench mark for viva- voce/ personality test.

Number of Vacancies : 10 (Ten) [but likely to vary subject to result of Civil Appeal No. 1867 of 2006 (Malik Mazhar Sultan’s case now pending before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of
India].

Note – II : Candidates will not be allowed to answer the questions with the assistance of books/ Bare Acts in any of three phases of the entire examination procedure.

Viva–voce : The Selection Board shall call such number of successful candidates in the written test in the Second Phase for viva voce/personality test as it thinks fit strictly according to merit list prepared on the basis of aggregate marks obtained by those candidates but such number in no case should exceed five times the number of vacant posts.
The High Court reserves the right to relax above eligibility criteria and qualifying marks in each subject or aggregate, if required.

The final merit list will be published on the basis of the total marks obtained by the successful candidates on the written test (descriptive) in the second phase and the viva–voce/personality test.

Qualification :

No person shall be eligible for appointment by direct recruitment unless: –

(a) he/ she is a citizen of India;
(b) he/ she has attained the age of 35 years and has not attained the age of 45 years (relaxation of 3 years on upper age for the candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) on 1st day of January, 2022;
(c) he/ she has been practicing for not less than seven years as an advocate as on 01–01–2022; and
(d) he/ she has good character and is of sound health and free from any bodily defect which renders him/ her unfit for such appointment.

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