Priyanka Bajpai, Rank 8, Rajasthan Judicial Services Examination

To begin, could you share a little about your background and what motivated you to pursue a career in the judiciary?

Hello everyone, my name is Priyanka Bajpai, and I have secured Rank 8 in Rajasthan Judicial Services Examination 2024. To share my background, I come from a small district in MP named Balaghat. I have done my schooling from Balaghat English Higher Secondary School, Balaghat in Maths Science stream.

Thereafter, I prepared for the CLAT Exam 2017 and joined the Institute of Law, Nirma University for 5 years integrated Law course. After graduating in 2022, I started preparing for Judiciary Exams and was fortunate enough to clear the RJS Exam in my first attempt.

The desire to join the Judicial Service was instilled in me from my childhood. My grandfather was a Retired District & Session Judge. His discipline, dedication & commitment towards this service inspired and motivated me to be a judicial officer.

Furthermore, my father is an Advocate who has been in litigation for 37 years and he always dreamt of seeing me as a judicial officer. My family’s deep-rooted connection with the legal field acted as an early catalyst for my dream to join the judicial service and to work for public welfare.

What was the moment that solidified your decision to prepare for the Rajasthan Judicial Services Exam, and why did you choose this particular path over other legal career options?

I had already decided to pursue Judiciary while I was giving my Higher Secondary Exam. So, I was clear in my head to start my preparation for this competitive exam from the initial days of Law school. However, during my internships, I tried to explore other career options like joining litigation or academics.

But then, I always wanted to work for my childhood dream of becoming Judicial officer once before going for any other options.

So, after completing my graduation in 2022, I started my preparation in full swing while targeting to crack the MP & Rajasthan Judicial Services Exam. I prepared for a year and gave my first attempt in the MP Judicial Services Exam 2022 in January 2024 since it was the first vacancy after 2022.

But unfortunately, I missed to crack the prelims by 1 mark. At that time, I felt shattered & was thinking of giving up on this career path but then in April 2024 the notification for the Rajasthan Judiciary exam came, so I buckled myself up for my next target state and decided to appear for the RJS exam.

The journey to success often has its ups and downs. What were some challenges you faced during your preparation, and how did you overcome them?

Preparing for a competitive exam takes a heavy toll on your physical & mental health especially when you devote your full time and energy and end up seeing no results. During this journey, one of the major challenges is to keep up with the patience and discipline towards your studies.

I used to make vision boards and monthly & weekly study targets to keep up with the motivation. Another challenge is to mold your preparation according to the stage of the Examination while keeping up with the syllabus. For this, you need to maintain a thorough revision schedule and focus on time management.

Could you walk us through your preparation strategy? For example, how did you manage time between prelims, mains, and the interview stage?

I started my preparation by making comprehensive notes of all the subjects while solving subject-wise MCQs. Then for Prelims, I shifted my focus to giving full-length mock tests and revision of laws alongside giving time to language paper. I tried to complete 2-3 revisions of all the subjects before writing the final prelims exam.

Mains Examination tests your conceptual knowledge of law and for that, I started practicing answer writing in a time-based manner. The answer-writing practice must go hand in hand with the revision of laws from your notes.

At this stage, I also practiced judgment writing from standard books and essay writing from current legal issues. You cannot compromise on these two aspects while preparing for the Mains Examination. Most people struggle with Hindi Essay Writing and for that I wrote sample essays in Hindi on current and static topics.

Thereafter, for the Interview stage, I gave multiple mock interviews while revising the laws. The interview stage tests your personality and legal awareness thus, it is important to read recent news, legal developments and your State specific general knowledge questions as well.

The Rajasthan Judicial Services Exam requires deep knowledge across multiple subjects. How did you ensure consistency in your preparation and mastery over such a vast syllabus?

Yes, consistency is very important for cracking any competitive exam. It is essential to build a study routine and revision schedule simultaneously. While covering a subject thoroughly I used to do daily revision, and then weekly revision of completed subject.

Further, I used to switch between major laws and local laws to stay in touch with each subject. The best you can do for your preparation is to focus on multiple revisions instead of covering different resources. At times, revision seems boring but you cannot skip it as multiple revisions will only enhance your chances of cracking this examination.

Were there specific resources, mentors, or platforms that played a key role in your preparation? Would you recommend them to aspiring candidates?

I did join a coaching institute to cover the syllabus thoroughly but it is not necessary if you have good conceptual clarity of law. Any platform or coaching institute can only provide you with resources but in the end, only thorough self-study can get you through this exam.

Mentors or seniors help immensely in solving your queries related to preparation. I used to contact my teachers and college seniors who had cracked this examination for specific guidance.

I would recommend candidates utilize the online available content to build conceptual clarity and refer to standard books for solving questions. Joining any test series for Prelims works best to build accuracy and time management during the examination. Also, try to connect to your seniors or teachers for specific preparation queries.

Aspirants often struggle with balancing social life while preparing for competitive exams. How did you handle this aspect?

I never curbed my social life entirely while preparing for this exam. I used to stay in touch with my friends and family to avoid the exam stress however, sometimes you need to make the hard decision of avoiding some of your family functions for your studies and that is completely fine if that is the need of the hour.

Also, it is important to balance your social media usage during this phase. Most people recommend shutting down your social media while preparing for competitive exams but I never did that. In fact, I started a motivational page on Instagram titled- @preparation_diaries, wherein I used to post my study routines and study tips to build a community of aspiring candidates.

That page really helped me to stay motivated and to keep up with my studies as I got a chance to connect with many other aspirants. We made study groups and solved each other’s queries. Thus, I would suggest others to do constructive usage of social media during your preparation phase and there is no thumb rule that all aspirants have to delete their social media.

The interview round can be daunting for many. How did you prepare for the personality test, and can you share any memorable moments or questions from your interview?

The interview round makes every other aspirant anxious but in reality, it is an enriching experience that you will cherish forever. The Hon’ble Judges and the panelists treat you very amicably while testing your personality and qualities.

The panelist asks questions about the law, general awareness, your interests and opinions, and some situational questions that you will deal as a judge. My interview round lasted for 10-15 minutes wherein I was asked direct questions on law, general awareness questions on Rajasthan, and a situational based question.

In order to gear up for interviews, I watched some of the Mock interviews of Toppers and revised the law subjects thoroughly. I also read current news and general facts relating to Rajasthan for my interview and gave multiple Mock Interviews to build up my confidence.

I would advise other aspirants to answer every question honestly before the panel and in case you do not know an answer it is completely fine to say you do not know. The test is not how much you know things but how much you know yourself.

Preparing for such a competitive exam often requires a strong support system. What role did your family, friends, or mentors play in your success?

Yes, the role of family and friends cannot be undermined while you are hustling to get through any competitive exam. Always try to surround yourself with people who trust in your abilities and motivate you to be on this career path.

Fortunately, my parents and sister always wanted to see me as a judicial officer and they always supported me through every failure I faced during the course of my preparation. And my friends had always encouraged me to keep trying with full zeal for this exam. I would say it is all because of their support and encouragement that I was able to get through in my first attempt.

How much did the extracurricular activities in Law school and internships help you in deciding your career path and for the Judiciary?

The extracurricular activities help a lot to explore different aspects of the legal field. When I was in Law school, I took part in Moot courts competitions and Mock Trials while handling my academics. Such activities really help you to understand the practical aspect of law and enhance your practical knowledge, research skills, and oratory skills.

Further, internships were a mandatory part of our curriculum so I tried to intern with different organizations; law firms, and independent Advocates to understand their work-life and Court proceedings. Such kind of exposure helps you to make an informed decision about your interests and to choose a better career path for yourself.

I would suggest law students intern with different kinds of organizations to understand their work culture and then, if you decide to join the judiciary in the future then you can intern in District Courts and do Judicial clerkships as it will make you understand the actual Court proceedings.

Has Lawctopus helped you in your legal journey? If yes, could you share how it supported or guided you during your preparation?

Lawctopus is a pioneer platform for legal articles, interviews, and for exploring legal opportunities. During law school, I used the Lawctopus platform to search for internship opportunities and platforms to send my articles for publication.

During my preparation, I used to read interviews of Judiciary Toppers to seek guidance for my prep through this platform. And now I wish others could utilize this platform for their growth and judiciary preparation.

Looking back at your journey, what is one piece of advice you wish you had received when you first started preparing?

I would like to advise others that don’t try to appear for multiple States if you have not prepared wholeheartedly or you have just started preparation. I appeared for the Chhattisgarh Judicial Services Exam when I just started my preparation and then I was disappointed enough when I couldn’t qualify for it.

It gave me a lot of self-doubt and anxiety, but then I encouraged myself to focus on my target states with full preparation. So, I would say attempt other State’s Judicial Services Exam only if you have prepared well otherwise try to cover all subjects and streamline your preparation only for your target state.

Finally, for our readers aspiring to follow in your footsteps, what would be your three key takeaways for cracking the Rajasthan Judicial Services Exam?

The three keys to cracking the Rajasthan Judicial Service Exam are firstly, master the Bareacts of major laws as most questions are directly from the bareact; secondly, give equal time to language and solve its topic wise MCQs and read newspapers in both the language; thirdly, keep a track of current legal updates as it will help you in Prelims, Mains Essay writing and for unexpected Interview rounds.

What is your parting advice to the aspiring candidates preparing for the Judicial Services Exam?

Always believe in the power of your dreams. If you can dream it, you can definitely achieve that feat no matter how much competition comes your way.

This exam tests your patience and commitment but all you have to do is to set a deadline for yourself and to keep giving your 100% to the preparation until you reach your set deadline. I want to you know that you will have various career options in law but once you get tired of your preparation journey you won’t be able to give it a try again.

I wish you all good luck for your preparation and hope to see you excel in your career.

Disclaimer: Interviews published on Lawctopus are not edited thoroughly so as to retain the voice of the interviewee.