Delhi Judicial Service · High Court of Delhi
The DJS, read through 1,198 real past questions — not a syllabus PDF.
The largest paper archive of any state judiciary, decoded. We map where the marks sit subject-by-subject from six prelims and four mains papers, the Delhi-only law, and the shift to the new criminal codes.
- Conducting body High Court of Delhi
- Post Civil Judge (Junior Division)
- Eligibility Advocate with 3+ years’ practice
- Age Not more than 32 (as on 1 Jan)
- Stages Prelims → Mains → Viva-Voce
- Language English; Hindi↔English translation in Mains
Three stages, and only two of them count toward your rank.
Prelims is a pure filter with steep 60%/55% cut-offs and 25% negative marking. Your entire merit is built in the Mains and the viva — plan your time accordingly.
Stage 1 · Screening
Preliminary Exam
Objective · MCQ
A single qualifying paper. Marks are NOT counted in the final merit — it only short-lists for the Mains.
- One paper · MCQ
- 200 marks
- Negative marking
- 25% per wrong answer
- Qualifying cut-off
- 60% general · 55% reserved
Stage 2 · Selection
Main (Written) Exam
Descriptive · 4 papers
Four papers carry 850 marks and build your merit. The 250-mark Language paper includes essay, précis and English↔Hindi translation.
- General Legal Knowledge & Language
- 250 marks
- Civil Law I / Civil Law II
- 200 + 200 marks
- Criminal Law
- 200 marks
Stage 3 · Final
Viva-Voce
Personality + law
Called on Mains marks. Need 40% per paper & 50% aggregate (general) to qualify for the viva. Final merit = Mains + Viva.
- Viva marks
- 150
- Min in viva
- 50% general · 45% reserved
- Prelims weight in merit
- Zero (screening only)
Can you apply? Check this before anything else.
Qualification
A law degree and not less than 3 years’ practice as an Advocate, with a certificate of practice, as on the last date of application.
Age
Not more than 32 years as on 1 January of the year applications are invited. Standard category relaxations apply.
Bar enrolment
Required — you must be an enrolled advocate; practice is counted from the date of provisional enrolment with the State Bar Council.
Nationality
Citizen of India.
Language
Examined in English, with a qualifying English↔Hindi (Devanagari) translation component in the Mains Language paper.
Attempts
No attempt limit specified in the notification — only the age ceiling of 32 applies.
The full syllabus, paper by paper.
A single objective paper screens you in Prelims; the four Mains papers build your rank.
Prelims
One MCQ paper with 25% negative marking: general legal knowledge, aptitude, flair in English, and objective legal problems across the listed Acts.
Constitution · CPC · CrPC/BNSS · IPC/BNS · Contract · LLP Act · Arbitration · Evidence/BSA · Specific Relief · Limitation · POCSO · Commercial Courts Act.
Mains — 4 papers
- General Legal Knowledge & Language250
- Civil Law I200
- Civil Law II200
- Criminal Law200
The prelims subjects, ranked by how hard DJS actually tests them.
Share of the 1198 classified prelims questions across the 2011, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023 papers. The Mains reorganises this same law into Civil Law I/II and Criminal Law — so this is your map for both stages.
General Knowledge & Current Legal Affairs
15%Largest single head
Volatile (10–55 Qs/yr). Recent papers lean legal: landmark SC judgments, constitutional amendments, court statistics, who’s-who of the judiciary — not generic trivia.
English Language & Comprehension
13%Guaranteed scorer
Stable 15–21 Qs in recent papers: vocabulary, idioms, fill-in-the-blanks, prepositions, spelling and reading comprehension. Non-negotiable, near-certain marks.
Code of Civil Procedure (CPC)
13%Rising — top procedural head
From 8 Qs (2011) to a sustained 28–39 (2018–2023). Problem scenarios: amendment, ex-parte decrees, Order 37 summary suits, execution, res judicata.
Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC / BNSS)
12%Heavy & stable
Never below 17 Qs; 30 in 2022. Scenario-based: investigation, arrest, bail, cognizance, charge, s.125 maintenance, magistrate powers.
IPC / BNS
10%Reliable core
Stable 15–25 Qs, drifting up in 2022–23. General exceptions, homicide, hurt, property offences, abetment, conspiracy — heavy on applied illustrations.
Constitution of India
9%Stable scoring subject
Mostly 13–30 Qs (the 2019 dip to 8 is the outlier). Fundamental rights, writs, DPSP, judiciary, emergency, amendments and landmark cases.
Evidence Act (BSA)
7%Rising mid-weight
Doubled to 20 Qs in both 2022 and 2023. Burden of proof, admissions/confessions, secondary & electronic evidence, presumptions, estoppel.
Arbitration · Limitation · Contract · others
18%Delhi’s distinctive tail
Arbitration every year (now 15–16 Qs), Limitation a steady 7–10. Contract, Specific Relief, Commercial Courts Act & POCSO (both new since 2022) fill the rest.
What to study first, and what gives the most marks per hour.
- Do first CPC + CrPC
~25% of the prelims combined and both rising. Tested through detailed problem scenarios — the single highest-yield target.
- Guaranteed marks English + Legal Current Affairs
≈28% of the prelims and non-bare-Act. English is a stable scorer; track recent SC judgments and judicial current affairs, not trivia.
- Reliable core Constitution · IPC · Evidence
Another ~26% combined and stable-to-rising. Evidence in particular doubled to 20 questions in the last two papers.
- Delhi specialty Arbitration · Limitation
Carry far more prelims weight here than in most states — Arbitration is now 15–16 Qs every year, Limitation a steady 7–10. Do not skip.
- New entrants Commercial Courts Act · POCSO
Both appeared only from 2022 but are now permanent fixtures (~13–15 Qs combined). Build compact, dedicated notes.
The state-specific edge most all-India material skips.
Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958
Delhi’s strongest state-specific signal. Tested in Civil Law-I every single Mains year (2015, 2018, 2019, 2022): Section 14(1)(e) bona-fide requirement, sub-letting / parting with possession, inheritance of tenancy, acquisition of alternative residence. Reliable, scorable marks.
NDMC Act 1994 & Delhi Municipal Corporation Act 1957
Notified in the Civil Law-I syllabus and seen in 2022 (sealing of construction, building bye-law remedies). Low volume but Delhi-specific — definitions, sealing/demolition powers and remedies are enough.
Study the new codes — BNS, BNSS, BSA
The syllabus pairs IPC↔BNS, CrPC↔BNSS and Evidence Act↔BSA (all 2023). Every available PYQ still uses the old codes — re-map section numbers; the concepts (bail, charge, dying declaration, presumptions) still recur. The Mains demands the exact provision, so section-mapped dual study is essential.
Everything you need to practise Delhi Judiciary — free.
Past Delhi prelims papers (2011–2023), solved and arranged like the real MCQ exam.
Open Mains Mains Questions & SolutionsDelhi mains papers (2015–2022) with model answers for the four Mains papers.
Open Notes Free Notes & LecturesSubject-wise notes — CPC, CrPC, Constitution, Evidence, Arbitration and the Delhi Rent Control Act.
OpenRead the actual Delhi papers this analysis is built on.
Start with the distribution files for the big picture, then solve full papers in timed blocks.
Method: every question in six prelims papers (1198 total) and four mains papers was read and classified by legal subject — not inferred from headings. A handful of stems carry OCR garble or give no subject cue, so treat exact counts as well-grounded estimates. The Mains General Legal Knowledge & Language paper (250 marks) has no PYQ data in these files — prepare it from the syllabus.
Delhi Judicial Service — quick answers.
Who conducts the Delhi Judicial Service (DJS) exam?
The High Court of Delhi conducts the DJS competitive examination for recruitment to the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division) for the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
What is the eligibility for DJS?
You must be a citizen of India with a law degree and not less than 3 years’ practice as an Advocate, and not more than 32 years of age as on 1 January of the year applications are invited.
Is there an attempt limit for DJS?
No. The notification specifies no cap on the number of attempts — only the upper age limit of 32 years applies.
Does DJS Prelims have negative marking?
Yes. The Preliminary Examination is a single 200-mark MCQ paper with 25% negative marking for each wrong answer.
Does the Prelims score count in the final merit?
No. The Prelims is a qualifying screening test only. Final merit is built from the four Mains papers plus the viva-voce.
What is the DJS Prelims cut-off?
The qualifying minimum is 60% for general-category candidates and 55% for reserved categories (SC, ST and eligible Persons with Disabilities).
How many papers are in the DJS Mains?
Four: General Legal Knowledge & Language (250 marks), Civil Law I (200), Civil Law II (200) and Criminal Law (200).
Should I study IPC/CrPC or the new criminal codes?
The syllabus pairs IPC↔BNS, CrPC↔BNSS and Evidence Act↔BSA (all 2023). Study the new codes and re-map old previous-year section numbers, as the Mains demands the exact provision.
Practise on questions built to this exact weightage.
Free mock series modelled on the DJS pattern — the 200-mark prelims with 25% negative marking, the four Mains papers, and BNS/BNSS/BSA-mapped questions.