Interview: West Bengal Judicial Service Topper Rupkatha Bhattacharyya Shares Her Success Story (WBJS 2019 RANK 1)

BY: THE LEX TIMES

Achieving a top slot in the judicial service examination is no small feat; please accept our heartiest congratulations.

Rupkatha: Thank you, that is most kind.

Kindly introduce yourself along with your educational qualifications.

Rupkatha: I completed my BA LLB (Hons) from Calcutta University, Department of Law in late-2018. After that I joined IIT KGP Rajiv Gandhi School of IP Law for my LLM. I sat for my West Bengal judiciary examination in 2019. As I was selected in WBJS, I had to drop out of IIT and complete my LLM from Calcutta University itself. Currently I am pursuing my doctoral degree.

Please tell us about your preparation journey for the Judicial Services Examinations and at what stage you started your preparation.

Rupkatha: I started preparing seriously after my tenth semester was over, in the second half of 2018.

The preliminary examination was held in April of 2019 and the mains was held shortly afterwards. I did not prepare seperately for the preliminary stage. For the mains, I tried to be thorough with the substantive and procedural laws. I solved the question papers of previous 10 years and a few other mock papers.

Did you take coaching?

Rupkatha: Dr. Prem Kumar Agarwal was my mentor. Though it wasn’t coaching in a traditional sense (as he believes students should prepare the answers and materials themselves), he answered any and all doubt that cropped up in my mind during preparation. When I was selected for the interview round, he held some mock interviews for me as well. This boosted my confidence a lot.

Have you tried other states besides West Bengal?

Rupkatha: No, I only tried for my State as I wanted to be close to my family.

How many attempts did it take to crack this exam?

Rupkatha: One.

What motivated you to take up the judiciary as a career option? Is there any particular story or motivation that influenced your journey?

Rupkatha: My mother is in the service and she used to come home with these incredible stories of crimes and complex situations. It was about the stories for me initially. Slowly, after I started studying law myself, I learnt to appreciate the puzzles in law. I also understood that this service brings you very close to people, their stories and how those stories are often stranger than fiction. Even now, as a Judge, I am in awe of the human spirit. This service makes you a learner forever, academically or otherwise. So I wanted to pursue it. If Judiciary did not work out, I would have attempted to get myself established in academics. Even in that line of work, I have seen how people are forever in the learning process. I have a lot of respect for those people who remain students forever.

What were your optional papers?

Rupkatha: I selected Limitation Act, Partnership Act and Muslim Law. I selected the third option because it always intrigued me. I selected the first two because their syllabus were relatively less lengthier. I was asked this question in my interview as well, and even then I admitted that I chose these topics because I believed they would not be very time consuming, if understood well.

What books did you prefer? Any specific books for prelims and mains?

Rupkatha: I am naming the books subject wise:

IPC – the bare act, K D Gaur’s book, Ratanlal Dhirajlal as well

CrPC – the bare act

Evidence – the bare act and Batuklal’s book

CPC – C K Takwani’s book

Contract Law – Avatar Singh’s book is excellent. However I read Bangia’s book in my University days, so I stuck to them during revision. I have a habit of scribbling notes on the margins, so I wanted my familiar book. I also read the bare act very thoroughly.

Tort Law – Bangia’s book

Transfer of Properties Act – R. K. Sinha’s book

Muslim Law- Mullah (in depth) , Aqil Ahmed(student friendly)

Partnership Act – Avatar Singh’s book and the bare act

Limitation Act- Bare Act and Jain / Agarwal and Agarwal (contains solved papers from WBJS, written for competitive examinations)

What was your daily study routine? How many hours did you study daily?

Rupkatha: I had no routine whatsoever. I tried to study whenever I could concentrate. When I felt my mind drifting, I would get up, maybe take a stroll or listen to some music and then get back to studying. When I felt it wasn’t possible for me to concentrate at all, I would read General Knowledge magazines or practice the grammatical portion of my Vernacular paper.

How did you prepare for General Knowledge and Current Affairs?

Rupkatha: I studied the monthly magazine Competition Success Refresher and I also read Indian Express, specifically the editorials. I bought the Panorama yearbook enthusiastically but I never had enough time to read it. At that time I thought it was best to focus on the law papers, which were subjects ultimately bounded by a syllabus, no matter how vast. So I did not put a lot of extra effort into General Knowledge and focused on law papers. This gamble worked for me.

How did you prepare for the Hindi, Bengali, and English papers?

Rupkatha: I did not prepare for the English paper at all. For Bengali I would write 2-3 essays every week for a few months before Mains. I also studied the grammatical portions. We usually write in English, so the speed of writing in our vernacular language sometimes takes a dive. Writing a bit every week helped me finish my lengthy paper, which itself was difficult for many.

What pens did you use for the mains and prelims?

Rupkatha: I used blue ball point pens to avoid smudging. I carried black pens to highlight important points but I did not always have time to switch pens.

Is there anybody in your family or among your friends who has been in judicial service?

Rupkatha: Yes, there is. Calcutta University has churned out many Judicial Officers so many of my seniors were in the service.

As it’s a long journey, people sometimes get demotivated or distracted. How do you handle that?

Rupkatha: When passing the sirens, Odysseus instructed his men to plug their ears with the beeswax, so they may avoid the siren calls. Follow Odysseus. Do not rely on willpower alone. Quit social media for a while, delete the addictive games, ditch a few outings, log out of OTTs if needed! Minimise distractions.

I think for every successful candidate there is an entire support system behind him or her. Find your tribe, lean on them and know that you are not alone.

Judiciary exams are conducted in three stages. What was your approach? Did you prepare for each stage differently, or was your focus always on the mains from the beginning?

Rupkatha: My focus was always on the mains papers. However I did solve the past years’ prelims paper of West Bengal a few days before the prelims to ensure that I could finish the preliminary examination in time and also to make sure I was getting safely past the previous year cut off.

For mains, as I said, I was thorough with the bare acts and I solved past year papers. I revised frequently. For the interview I sat for a couple of mock interviews.

What is your secret method for mains answer writing? What is the specific number of pages needed to write for 5, 10, or 15 marks, and did you underline important words or phrases?

Rupkatha: I think it’s wise to include those phrases which constitutes core ingredients of a section. Changing them or hastily paraphrasing them changes the entire meaning of the provisions.

I tried to underline important phrases as much as time permitted me. Overall I believe a neat and clean paper is always appreciated.

There are no specific page limit for answers. I truly believe that a candidate is expected to pay attention to quality over quantity. It is best to balance the length of the answer with the time allotted and the marks allotted to the question. This becomes easier to do, if you practice the mock papers in a time bound manner.

Is memorizing the latest case laws important?

Rupkatha: If a new dimension or interpretation has been introduced in any area through precedence, a law student should now that. For example, it could be a discredit to not know something pathbreaking like the verdict of D. K. Basu v State of West Bengal.

However it is not always necessary to mug up case laws, especially if that is happening at the cost of understanding the provisions themselves.

How did you prepare for the Personality Test / Interview? Many aspirants don’t know how to handle interview questions. Nervousness and anxiety are quite common hindrances. What is your suggestion for them? Kindly share your Personality Test experience.

Rupkatha: Yes, I was nervous but I did not try to hide it. I do not believe anyone expects the candidates to not be nervous. Nervousness is expected. It is also expected that the candidate may not have all the answers. How we deal with the unknown, how we react in the face of adverse situations is one of the tests of personality. I remained true to myself.

How did you manage your physical and mental health throughout the preparation? Did you face any hurdles in your journey?

Rupkatha: As there was too much on my plate (preparation, LLM, etc) I did not have any time to think about how I was being affected by it. My mental health was maintained only by the help of my friends and family, who kept telling me that the goal was achievable.

I am ashamed to admit that I failed in maintaining my physical health throughout the preparation. I gained weight, and immediately after the exams were over, I was diagnosed with myopia. I also developed other issues associated with a sedentary lifestyle. I hope future candidates will be better in handing this, than I was.

Who has been your biggest inspiration throughout your journey?

Rupkatha: Honestly, it was my mother. She cracked West Bengal judiciary when I was in nursery. When I felt tired or felt like it was too much, she would often remind me that she did all this with a little child. I had no excuses left to not do it.

Were you confident about your success? How did you react to the news?

Rupkatha: I was not confident in the slightest. I braced myself for a second attempt after my LLM. I was happy to receive the news but it was a mixed feeling, because I had to drop out of IIT (as they do not allow non residential students).

Please share some tips for our young minds who want to be a part of the judiciary.

Rupkatha: I know some candidates prefer writing extensive notes and reading them repeatedly. I know others who jot down points on the margins of the books. Some prepare charts and hang them on the wall. Know what works for you and follow that. Refer to the illustrations and case laws for problem oriented questions. Please communicate to your friends and family that you are undertaking quite a quest and need quiet and peace. Be ruthless while keeping your study area as free from distractions as you feel is necessary.

What qualities are required to become a judge?

Rupkatha: I am still figuring this out myself. You absolutely need to be an active listener. However I have noticed that some Seniors whom I admire, have qualities like patience, quick-wittedness, attention to detail, and a willingness to forever remain a learner.

Would you like to share your opinion on the latest criminal laws?

Rupkatha: There are some helpful provisions in the new criminal laws to expedite trial. However as it has just been implemented a few days back, I am yet to form a well informed evaluation of the laws. With the passage of time, I will understand their practicalities better. A considerable part of the new laws are reshuffled provisions from the old Acts.

Kindly tell us what it’s like to become a judge.

Rupkatha: I am still figuring out what it is like to become a Judge! I cracked the exam at 24 years of age. So, initially I had a lot of problems with Courtroom management. It was difficult for me to get people much older than me to listen to me. So it took me a few months to adjust to that.

I always imagined I would have issues with the judicial work. It was quite the contrary. So in hindsight, I think I ended up learning a lot more about administration than I thought I would. If there is anything I have learnt, it is that you cannot sit on the chair and expect people’s respect. It has to be earned with consistency and hardwork.

Lastly, I wish all the best for the candidates.

It was a pleasure having you, Rupkatha. Thank you so much for your valuable time. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors. We look forward to seeing your continued success.