‘Pratiyogita Darpan’ arranged an exclusive interview with Ashutosh Tiwari who has been selected in Uttarakhand Judicial Service Exam. attaining the 1st Rank. He deserves all admiration and our heartiest congratulations on his splendid success. This important, thought provoking and highly inspiring interview is being presented here in its original form.
PD—Achieving top slot in the JS Examination is no small feat; accept our heartiest congratulations on your splendid success.
Ashutosh—Thank you sir from the very bottom of my heart.
PD—Were you confident of your success in this examination and how did you react to this news ?
Ashutosh—Since seats for general category candidates were a few, therefore I could not entertain that level of confidence. When my elder sister Anshu informed me of the result I took it as joke. It is only Rahul sir’s confirmation that made me realize that my labour has been sanctified.
PD—In how many attempts have you achieved this success ?
Ashutosh—This was my second attempt and proved a vehicle to this podium.
PD—You must have read Judicial services Toppers’ interviews in newspapers/magazines; what inspired you the most ? Any particular success story which influenced your journey to this result ?
Ashutosh—My stay in K.P.U.C. hostel of Allahabad was full of trials and tribulations. From here I trod a firmer foot on my road to become a judicial officer. At this journey when I was at lowest ebb, my cohostlers, friends, teachers and toppers like Bharat Chugh (D.J.S.), Mohit Mishra (M.P.), Anuj Bahal (H.P.)and Vibha Yadav (Uttarakhand) at my coaching solace and thereby lively inspired me.
PD—How did you manage to tackle the ‘Negative Marking’ in Prelims ?
Ashutosh—As for managing negative marking, I opted only those questions which I was sure of. Then if I have scored enough to give me sufficient error margin, I opted those questions which I knew to be probably correct but I never risked for wild guess.
“I faithfully relied up on Pratiyogita Darpan for several entrance examination. … It is a good magazine.” —Ashutosh Tiwari |
PD—The first step is the most difficult; how to prepare ? From where, did you get the right advice ?
Ashutosh—Mainly it was the guidance of Rahul sir, Prof. R. C. Srivastawa at Rahul’s IAS, which propelled me to move forward and in right direction. After completion of my coaching I discussed previous years’ question papers with my friends which enabled me to grab the nerve of the exam.
PD—You achieved the desired success in this attempt; how do you visualize your previous attempts ?
Ashutosh—My first unsuccessful attempt happened to be MP PCSJ which made me realize that I cannot manifest my clutch on case laws and key concepts in exams like MP and Rajasthan, where due to paucity of time none else but reproduction of statute serves be tter purpose. Consequently I found my arm twisted. That is why this time I bartered away Rajasthan Mains exam with Uttarakhand Mains exam which gives credit to updated answers in terms of case laws and elaboration of conceptions because I was bestowed with such merit both at coaching and at my faculty (CLC,DU).
PD—What shift did you adopt in your strategy for MAINS (Written) ?
Ashutosh—For Mains my focus was on time bound answer writing practice without undermining the importance of lucid language and legible handwriting. I got my answers cross checked at my coaching and by my friends like Ravi and Amit and over their feedbacks I improved upon for law papers. I updated myself on new case laws and drew plausible conclusion on recent legal and controversial issues by discussion with my friends for present day paper(1st paper). For this paper I also consulted Pratiyogita Darpan, The Hindu, EPW, Current Affairs magazine and materials given by coaching, H. O. Aggarwal on international law and my
faculty casemate for jurisprudence. For 2nd paper(language) with regular practice I enriched translation and precis writing part.
PD—‘Time Management’ is a key factor. How did you manage things ?
Ashutosh—Of course it is at all stage, be it during study or exam but I got hold through mock test conducted at my coaching.
PD—How did you prepare yourself for Interview ? When and which Board did you face ? How did your interview go on, how much time did it last and what were the questions asked during the Interview ?
Ashutosh—Interview aims to test what is inherent in a candidate. To effectively articulate this I just consolidated and polished what I had by way of mock test at Rahul’s IAS and by having discussion with friends like Pawan and Avinash. Fortunately my interview went fine in the board of Hon’ble Acting Chief Justice B. K. Bisht which lasted for 45 minutes wherein I was asked following questions :
- Evidentiary value of retracted confession.
- Relevance of state of mind in civil defamation cases.
- Is there any justification on providing for prior double sanction formality for public servants at both, investigation and cognizance stages under Prevention of Corruption act ?
- Should there be a cooling off period for retired judges of higher courts and bureaucrats ?
- Who is Hon’ble Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha ? Do you know the election case ?
- What is NOTA, how is it different from earlier existing NOTA ?
- And other Questions were on Ram Charit Manas, Ethics , Local Law, Local and Current aAffairs and on my hobbies etc.
PD—Were you preparing for other career opportunities as well while preparing for your ultimate goal i.e., Career in judicial Services ?
Ashutosh—No. My focus was only on judicial services.
PD—While the changing economic environment offers immense lucrative career opportunities in various sectors, still what kept you motivated towards Judicial Services ?
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Bio-Data |
| Name—Ashutosh Tiwari
Father’s Name—Ram Raj Tiwari Mother’s Name—Pratima Tiwari Date of Birth—January 10, 1989 Educational Qualifications— 10th—2004, U.P. Board, K. P. College, Pratapgarh, (61·33%) 12th—2006, U.P. Board, K.P. College, Pratapgarh, (67·40%) B.A.—2009, University of Allaha-bad, Main Campus, (61·33%) LL.B.—2013, University of Delhi, C.L.C. (Faculty of Law), (62·40%) LL.M.—2013-15, University of Delhi, Faculty of Law (Pursuing) |
Ashutosh—A judge is sovereign on his bench having been empowered to make differences in the life of the people, and whose domain of functioning is free from any external interference and his discretion always remains as such and does not get converted into mandate or dictate of extra Judicial body. I believe judiciary is the best platform to wipe out tears of Gandhian’s last and Ambedkar’s suppressed within the limit permissible by law.
PD—In your opinion at which Educational Level should one start preparing for Judicial Services and what should be the minimum period of time required to prepare for Judicial Services Examinations ?
Ashutosh—Rome was not built in one day. Therefore for speedier success I sincerely believe that preparation of judiciary has to begin with LL.B. but at later stage it should be pursued more systematically on the basis of warmth generated during or after LL.B.
PD—What is the importance of medium of examination for exams like JS ?
Ashutosh—Lets be pragmatic on this point. Sadly, medium of expression does impact on performance because quality books, judgements of higher courts, legal articles, magazines etc. are monopolized by English language which is sufficient to do inequality behind facade of equality. Grundnorm envisages a level playing field for all. Therefore, I believe that Grievances of Hindi medium students deserve due attention and must be redressed in near future. Well, I opted for English medium.
PD—Did you keep in mind some time-frame for the examination preparation and number of attempts ?
Ashutosh—My focus was to get selected at the earliest but neither there was outer limits nor specified number of attempts for this.
PD—Was Judicial service a planned decision or your parents’ wish ?
Ashutosh—Yes, I have personally chosen and planned, luckily this coincided with my parents wish who constantly supported and stood beside me at all stages.
| Personal Qualities |
| Favourite Person—I draw inspira-tion and strength from my parents.
Strong Point—Strong will power, hardworking, spiritual. Weak Point—I tend to get impa-tient at times and I am extremely emotional. Hobbies—Article writing, jogging, and talking with my bhanja Vishu regularly on phone for refreshment. |
PD—Does the educational, financial and demographic status of the family of an aspirant have any impact on the preparation ?
Ashutosh—To be straight forward, it does have its share as those who lack resources cannot afford expensive coaching and other study materials but this harshness can me mitigated with indomitable spirit and commitment to spearhead towards the aim. When such is the righteousness god is always there to dispel darkness with beacon light.
PD—How do you find Pratiyogita Darpan ? Do you find it close to your expectations ?
Ashutosh—I have grown with reading Pratiyogita Darpan. To say least, I faithfully relied upon Pratiyogita Darpan for several entrance exams since my 12th, because just reading 7 to 8 months Pratiyogita Darpan prior to exam takes care of current affairs questions. This legitimacy continued even in my judicial examination preparation. It is a good magazine and would become best if it gives 2 pages reserved for recent landmark judgements with citation which will be highly helpful not only for judicial but also for civil services aspirants.
PD—As a reader of PD, do you read IAS Preparation related articles written by Atul Kapoor and did you find these constructive ?
Ashutosh—Yes I read his articles. These are very insightful and thought provoking.
PD—What is the secret of your success ?
Ashutosh—During the journey of my success I sacrificed the company of inalienable friends, comforts, social media and unnecessary phone calls and thereby completely devoted myself preparation and used maximum available time in doing hard work. I remained calm, composed and confident by reason of having firm belief in God, regular jogging and by taking hygenic food. Probably all this made me a good competitor.
PD—To whom would you like to give the credit for your success ?
Ashutosh—I am not a selfmade man. I believe this time God was too liberal to me. Credit goes to almighty, my parents, Rahul sir, Prof. R.C. Srivastawa sir, whole Rahul’s IAS staff, my friends including Amit, Ravi, Pawan, Avinash and my younger brother Anurag, whose love, blessings, and overall support and cooperation enabled me to achieve this slot. I would like to give special thanks to my friend Rajkumar Tripathi who missed this very exam by one mark without whose allround help and support this journey of success would have not been as pleasant.
PD—Any suggestion/advice you would like to give to the future aspirants.
Ashutosh—Dear enduring friends I have just a bit advice, don’t desert patience and perseverance.
Face adversities with equanamity. May I remind when you set to yourself for grand target, repulsion is quite natural, but what matters is how you will fight back.
PD—Thank you very much and wishing you all the best for your future endeavours.
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