Bharat SainiLast Updated on April 11, 2022 by Bharat Saini
The combination of constant hard work, self-motivation and incomparable guidance is the secret of my success.
“Pratiyogita Darpan” arranged an exclusive interview with Shri Abhinav Singh who has been selected in Judicial Services Examination, 2018. He deserves high appreciation and our heartiest congratulations on his glorious success. This important, thought-provoking and highly inspiring interview is being presented here in its original form.
PD—Achieving top slot in the Judicial Services Examination is no small feat; accept our heartiest congratulations on your splendid success.
Mr. Abhinav—Thank you so much.
PD—Can you recall the exact moment when you realized the importance of Judicial Services ?
Mr. Abhinav—It was during the last year of my L-L.B. Curriculum. I had a strong desire of serving the society right from the beginning and as I proceeded with my legal studies , I realised that the judicial services would provide me the perfect platform for that. Thus the desire became a passion.
PD—Finally, at what point of time did you make up your mind to make career in ‘Judicial Services’ ?
Mr. Abhinav—After I finished my LL.B.
PD—You must have read toppers’ interviews in newspapers / magazines; what inspired you the most ?
Mr. Abhinav—I was inspired by the struggle of most of the candidates against adverse circumstances and came victorious at the end. I was most influenced by the success story of Mr. Govind Jaiswal, IAS, 2006 batch, who despite being the son of a rickshaw puller, belied all odds to become an IAS officer. It was very inspiring.
PD—Was JSE your planned decision or your parents’ wish ? Did you keep in mind some time frame, for the examination preparation and number of attempts ?
Mr. Abhinav—It was an amalgamation of both. While they motivated me to stay focussed on the preparations, I motivated myself to put in to hard work. I did not keep in mind any particular number of attempts as I was determined to work hard howsoever long it took.
PD—Describe the exact moment when you came to know about the importance of Judicial Services ?
Mr. Abhinav—Being from the family of lawyers, I always knew the importance of judicial services and the massive power it has to make a difference in people’s lives. A person might go hungry and still sleep without complaining but a person can’t tolerate injustice. He is bound to revolt and thus the Judiciary has this important duty and role to prevent injustice from being perpetuated in the society and thus maintain a just social order.
PD—What was your first step when you were really serious about making a career in Judicial Services ?
Mr. Abhinav—In pursuance of my determination to make a career in judicial services, I joined Rahul’s IAS for coaching and guidance and thus this is how it began.
PD—Were you confident of your success in this examination and how did you react to this news of your success?
Mr. Abhinav—Somewhere deep down in my heart I believed that I would make it as I had really worked hard but competitive exams are fraught with uncertainities and that kept me a little nervous. But at the end when the final results came I was satisfied with my performance.
PD—In how many attempts have you achieved this success ? How do you visualize your previous attempts ?
Mr. Abhinav—This was my third attempt for DJS. In the very first attempt, I was able to clear the prelims but missed the Mains by a margin of few marks. In my second attempt though I was able to clear the Mains but couldn’t make it in the final list. Finally, I tasted success in my third attempt . Moreover, for UP Judicial Services, it was my second attempt.
PD—Were you preparing for other career opportunities as well while preparing for your ultimate goal i.e., Career in Judicial Services ?
Mr. Abhinav—No. I only focussed upon the judicial services though I had kept litigation as a back up option.
PD—While the changing economic environment offers immense lucrative career opportunities in various sectors, still what kept you motivated towards Judicial Services ?
Mr. Abhinav—As I have mentioned earlier, a judicial officer holds immemse potential to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. For me, job satisfaction weighs heavily against economic factors. This is the reason I was never distracted by anything.
PD—What’s important that needs attention and what’s not ? Share your thoughts and opinions.
Mr. Abhinav—First of all one must be highly motivated for the services because motivation breeds efforts. Secondly a systematic approach towards the syllabus is very necessary. Thirdly competitive exams require great deal of regularity.
PD—‘Time-Management’ is a key factor. How did you manage the things ?
Mr. Abhinav—I had a fixed study plan. I used to divide my day into three shifts and assigned subjects against each shift. Further I used to allot fixed number of shifts to each subject . Thus at the end of the day, I had a very comprehensive study plan which set right my complete accountability towards myself.
PD—List some of the Magazines, News papers, Books etc. which you read for ‘General Studies’ preparation.
Mr. Abhinav—I have been an avid reader of The Hindu and Pratiyogita Darpan magazine right from my college days. In Delhi judicial service exams, in the general studies we are mostly asked current affairs based questions and in that regard these two things sufficed and the rest was complemented by the material we received from the institute.
PD—How did you prepare yourself for Interview ?
Mr. Abhinav—The interview panel in Delhi consisted of around 5-6 members and in UP it comprised 4 members. It contained both Judicial as well as non judicial members. I don’t have much public speaking fear, so I was not very much worried about the interview. However, I was also not over confident. So I browsed through my notes, prepared about my background, faced mock interviews organised by Coaching Institute and just went for the interview.
PD—About Interview Boards, many candidates have set impressions. Do you consider such thoughts help or hinder one’s performance in Interview ?
Mr. Abhinav—I think one must not anticipate anything about the interview and should go there with an open mind. Interview is just a test of the personality and therefore a candidate must focus upon that only.
PD—What is the importance of medium of examination for exams like JSE ?
Mr. Abhinav—Delhi judicial services examination is conducted only in English language. So medium doesn’t play any role in Delhi. However, in U.P. it is conducted in both Hindi and English mediums but as people from both the mediums have cleared the exam, I believe medium is not a hindrance in U.P. too.
PD—Does the educational, financial and demographic status of the family of an aspirant have any impact on the preparation ?
Mr. Abhinav—I think the inner commitment and dedication of a candidate is the biggest contributing factor towards his success . All these factors might play some role, but there are umpteen number of examples where people have defied all odds to taste the sweet wine of success.
PD—Pratiyogita Darpan, the largest read Career & Competition magazine, has been the top choice of aspirants; what is your opinion about it ?
Mr. Abhinav—There is a very real reason about it being so. It comprehensively covers all the aspects of current affairs coupled with a very lucid language. Apart from that the presentation is wonderful which makes the reading easy and enjoyable.
PD—What is the secret of your success ?
Mr. Abhinav—I think the hard work I have put in and the sacrifices I have made during the preparation.
PD—To whom would you like to give the credit for your success ?
Mr. Abhinav—I would like to thank God who imbued me with great strength and would like to give the credit of my success to my parents who always stood beside me in both my success and failures, my mentor Mr. Rahul Yadav, Propreitor Rahul’s IAS, Dr. N.K. Bahl, Director of Judicial Training Academy at DME School of Law, Noida and my friends specially Divya Dixit who have always stood behind me as a great support.
PD—Any suggestion/advice you would like to give to the future aspirants.
Mr. Abhinav—Either do what your heart says, or put your heart in whatever you do.
PD—Thank you very much and wishing you all the best for your future endeavours.
