Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Question Papers With Answers, Download Pdf

Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Question Papers with answers are the official PCS (Judicial Branch) Prelims and Mains papers released by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, along with their proposed and final answer keys.

The most recent full cycle is the 2022–23 recruitment for 159 Civil Judge (Junior Division) posts: Prelims were held on 22 January 2023, Mains on 2–4 June 2023, and the final result came out on 12 October 2023.

• The Prelims paper has 125 MCQs for 500 marks in 2 hours, with 0.80 marks deducted per wrong answer (one-fifth of 4). In 2023, deleted questions brought the paper down to 484 marks.
• Candidate need 150/500 (100 for reserved categories) to reach Mains. Mains has 5 descriptive papers worth 950 marks, followed by a 100-mark viva.
• The previous cycle (75 posts) held Prelims on 25 August 2019 and Mains on 22–24 November 2019. No new Punjab Civil Judge notification is out, so these papers are the best guide to the 2026–27 exam.

Key Points About Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Question Papers

Some key points for Punjab Judiciary are mentioned below: 

• Year-wise download table for the 2023 and 2019 PCS (JB) Prelims and Mains papers, with exam dates and paper codes.
• 10 solved Prelims MCQs from the CPC section, each with the correct option and the rule it comes from.
• An overview table of the exam pattern, marking scheme and qualifying marks, taken from the official notification.
• A question analysis built on the official 2023 result data: deletions, effective marks and what the scores mean.
• A warning on old papers: questions framed under IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act must now be read against BNS, BNSS and BSA.
• A 2026 preparation plan, common mistakes and 10 FAQs.

Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Question Papers PDF (Free Download)

Download the Punjab Judiciary previous year question papers for prelims from below link

Download Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Question Papers PDF

Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Question Papers for Prelims Year-Wise (2013-2023)

Download the Punjab Judiciary Prelims question papers year-wise from 2013 to 2023, starting with the latest PCS (JB) 2023 paper (held on 22 January 2023).

Practising a decade of papers shows which CPC, criminal law and Punjab-specific topics come up again and again.

Punjab Prelims Question Paper 2023	Download Now
Punjab Prelims Question Paper 2019	Download Now
Punjab Prelims Question Paper 2017	Download Now
Punjab Prelims Question Paper 2015	Download Now
Punjab Prelims Question Paper 2013	Download Now

Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Question Papers with Answers: Overview

Punjab Judiciary previous year question papers with answers are the actual question papers of the Punjab Judiciary exam conducted earlier. The Punjab and Haryana High Court sets and evaluates the papers; the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) handles applications.

The High Court uploads the Prelims question paper (Code A) with a proposed answer key a few days after the exam, then a final key with the result.

Particular	Details
Exam name	Punjab Civil Service (Judicial Branch) Examination
Post	Civil Judge (Junior Division)-cum-Judicial Magistrate
Conducting body	Punjab and Haryana High Court, with the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC)
Last notification	September 2022, for 159 posts. Applications closed on 10 October 2022.
Previous cycle	2019, for 75 posts
Stages	Prelims (objective) → Mains (descriptive) → Interview (Viva voce)
Prelims	125 MCQs worth 4 marks each, for a total of 500 marks. Duration is 2 hours.
Negative marking	Each wrong answer carries a deduction of 0.80 marks (one-fifth of the marks for the question). Unanswered questions carry no penalty.
Prelims qualifying marks	150 out of 500 (100 out of 500 for reserved categories). Prelims marks are used for screening only.
Mains	5 papers worth 950 marks in total, with 3 hours per paper
Mains papers	Civil Law I (200), Civil Law II (200), Criminal Law (200), English (200) and Punjabi in Gurmukhi script (150)
Viva voce	100 marks. Candidates need a written aggregate of 50% to qualify for the viva voce (45% for SC/BC/PH candidates).
Official answer keys	The proposed answer key and Code A question paper are released first, followed by final answer keys for Codes A–D.
2026 status	PPSC Civil Judge notification is awaited.

The Punjab Judiciary Syllabus for Prelims is the same as Mains law papers I to IV, plus current affairs, reasoning and legal history. So a Prelims paper is also a map of what Mains will test in depth.

Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Question Paper Analysis

The 2023 Prelims was a law-heavy, bare-act paper where accuracy decided who qualified. Five data points from the Punjab and Haryana High Court's answer-key notice and result sheet show this.

Data point (PCS JB Prelims 2023)	Figure	What it tells you
Questions set	125	Allow about 57 seconds per question.
Questions deleted after objections	4 (Q56, Q64 and Q103 in the proposed revision, plus one more in the final key)	Use the final answer key when scoring your practice paper.
Effective maximum marks	484	After four questions were deleted, scores were calculated out of 484.
Penalty per wrong answer	0.80 marks	Five wrong answers cancel out the marks from one correct answer.
Answer changed after objections	Q1 (D to C)	Check the revised answer for Q1 before marking your practice paper.

Subject Areas Tested

The Punjab Judiciary Prelims tests four areas: Civil Law I, Civil Law II, Criminal Law, and general topics such as current affairs, reasoning and legal history, with the law subjects carrying most of the questions.

Area	Acts and topics covered (official syllabus)	How questions are framed
Civil Law I	CPC, Contract, Sale of Goods, Partnership, Specific Relief, Transfer of Property Act, Punjab Courts Act, East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act and Evidence	Direct recall of Orders, Rules and sections, along with illustrations from the bare Acts
Civil Law II	Hindu Law, Muslim Law, Customary Law, Registration and Limitation	Questions on limitation periods, registration requirements and succession rules
Criminal Law	IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act (now BNS, BNSS and BSA, respectively)	Matching offences to sections and recalling procedural timelines
General	Current affairs, governance, reasoning, and legal and constitutional history	Fewer questions, with scoring opportunities for candidates who prepare these topics

Benefits of Solving Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Question Papers

Solving Punjab Judiciary previous year papers shows you which acts the High Court tests most, trains you to answer 125 questions in 2 hours, and teaches you when to skip a question to avoid the 0.80-mark penalty.

• You learn the real cost of a wrong answer. At 0.80 marks per error, papers teach you when to leave a question blank. That judgement is worth more than any single topic.
• You see which acts the High Court actually tests. Punjab-specific laws like the Punjab Courts Act and the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act rarely appear in all-India mock tests.
• You train for 57 seconds per question. 125 questions in 120 minutes leaves no time to reread a CPC Order you only half know.
• You prepare for Mains at the same time. Prelims law topics come from Mains papers I to IV, so every Prelims error points to a Mains gap.
• You can benchmark against the cut-off line. The qualifying mark is 150/500 (100 for reserved categories), but shortlisting depends on the number of posts, so aim far above the minimum.
• You practise with official answer keys. The High Court publishes final keys, so you mark yourself against the source, not a coaching guess.

How to Effectively Use Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Question Papers?

Punjab Judiciary previous year papers are useful only if you treat them as mock exams, not reading material: time each paper, deduct 0.80 marks for every wrong answer, and turn your errors into a revision list.

1. Read the syllabus first, then one paper untimed. Tag every question by act. This shows you where marks actually sit before you start drilling.
2. Solve the latest paper (2023) under exam conditions. 120 minutes, OMR-style sheet, no bare act. Score it out of 484 using the final key and apply −0.80 per wrong answer.
3. Log every error in three columns: didn't know, misread, guessed wrong. Guessed-wrong errors are the ones negative marking punishes; cut them first.
4. Go back to the bare act, not notes. For each wrong CPC or Limitation question, read the full Order or Article, including illustrations.
5. Convert criminal-law questions to BNS/BNSS/BSA. Write the new section number next to every IPC, CrPC or Evidence Act answer.
6. Repeat with the 2019 paper after two weeks. Compare accuracy, not just score. Once both papers feel familiar, move to full-length judiciary mock tests for fresh questions in the same format.
7. Use Mains papers for answer-writing practice. Write two Civil Law answers a week in 3-hour blocks to build speed for the 950-mark Mains.

How to Prepare for Punjab Judiciary 2026 Exam?

Start now and treat the notification as the finish line, not the starting gun. In the last cycle, only about 4.5 months passed between the September 2022 notification and the January 2023 Prelims. For a subject-wise Prelims routine, candidates can go through the Punjab Judiciary Prelims preparation tips.

Phase	Duration	Focus	How to use previous-year papers
Foundation	Months 1–3	Study the bare Acts for CPC, Contract, TPA, Specific Relief, Limitation, BNS, BNSS and BSA.	Sort questions from the 2019 and 2023 papers by Act.
Punjab Laws and Civil Law II	Month 4	Study the Punjab Courts Act, East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, Hindu Law, Muslim Law, Customary Law and Registration.	Solve all previous-year questions on these topics.
Prelims practice	Months 5–6	Practise timed MCQs and revise current affairs and reasoning.	Attempt the full 2023 and 2019 papers, then take weekly mocks.
Mains writing	Alongside Prelims preparation	Write two long answers a week. Practise English essays and précis writing, as well as Punjabi essays and translation.	Use previous-year Mains questions as writing prompts.

Candidates should check eligibility before starting preparation of this exam. In May 2025, the Supreme Court restored a minimum of three year's practice as an advocate for Civil Judge (Junior Division) entry, so review the Punjab Judiciary eligibility criteria and confirm your enrolment date against the 2026 notification when it is released.

Common Mistakes to Avoid While Using Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Papers

Many students solve Punjab Judiciary previous year papers but lose their value through avoidable errors, such as using the wrong answer key, ignoring negative marking, or reading old criminal-law answers without updating them to BNS, BNSS and BSA.

• Marking yourself with the proposed key -  In 2023, objections changed one answer and led to deleted questions, cutting the paper to 484 marks. Use the final key only.
• Scoring out of 500 when the paper was out of 484 - Your percentage will look worse than it was, and your target score will be wrong.
• Ignoring negative marking in practice - If you don't deduct 0.80 per error at home, you will over-guess in the hall.
• Learning answers instead of provisions - The High Court rarely repeats a question word for word. It repeats the rule.
• Using old criminal-law answers as they are - IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act section numbers no longer apply after 1 July 2024.
• Skipping Punjab-specific acts and Punjabi - These are the topics other-state aspirants neglect, and they decide close results.
• Solving only Prelims papers - Mains is 950 marks of descriptive writing; final merit is Mains plus viva, not Prelims.

How to Download Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Question Papers?

Candidate can download Punjab Judiciary previous year question papers in two ways: from the year-wise PDF table on this page, or from the official Punjab and Haryana High Court website, which publishes each Prelims paper with its answer key.

From this page

1. Scroll to the Punjab Judiciary Previous Year Question Papers PDF (Free Download) section.
2. Pick the year you want from the table (2013 to 2023).
3. Click Download PDF next to the Prelims or Mains paper.
4. Save the file and match your answers with the official final answer key for that year.

From the official High Court website

1. Go to highcourtchd.gov.in, the official website of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
2. Open the Recruitment section and select Judicial Officers.
3. Check Notices for the question paper (Code A) and the proposed answer key, uploaded a few days after the exam.
4. Check Results for the final answer keys of all paper codes, released with the Prelims result.
5. Download the PDF and save it with the exam year in the file name, so you can find it easily later.

Sample Questions from Punjab Judiciary Exam Question Papers - Prelims

Q1) As per Order 2 Rule 1 C.P.C., every suit shall, as far as practicable, be framed to:-

1. Afford ground for final decision. 
2. To prevent further litigation.
3. Both a and b.
4. None of the above.

Q2) Which of the following is not a ground for the Court to order separate trials under Order 2 Rule 6 C.P.C.:-

1. Delay in the trial.
2. Inconvenience.
3. Embarrassment of the trial.
4. None of the above.

Q3) Order 5 of C.P.C. provides for:-

1. Issue and Service of Summons. 
2. Institution of Suits. 
3. Pleadings Generally. 
4. Admissions.

Q4) When there is more than one defendant, the service of summons shall be made on:-

1. Anyone defendant identified as the representative of all the defendants.
2. Majority of the defendants.
3. Each one of the defendants.
4. None of the above

Q5) Under Order 6 Rule 16 C.P.C., the Court may strike out any pleading on the ground that it is:-

1. Scandalous.
2. Vexatious.
3. Unnecessary.
4. All of the above.

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Q6) 'A' and 'B' sue 'C' for Rs. 1000.

1. 'C' cannot set off a debt due to him from 'A' alone.
2. 'C' can set off debt due to him from 'A' alone as a matter of right.
3. 'C' can set off debt due to him from 'A' alone with the Court's prior permission.
4. None of the above.

Q7) Issues arise when prepositions of law or fact are affirmed by one party and denied by the other.

1. Relevant
2. Necessary
3. Material
4. Disputed

Q8) When English is not the language of the Court, evidence may be taken in English if:-

1. The Court considers it necessary. 
2. All the parties do not object.
3. Both 'a' and 'b'.
4. None of the above.

Q9) Which of the following is true:-

1. Affidavits can be confined only to statements of knowledge.
2. Affidavits can be confined only to statements of beliefs.
3. Affidavits cannot be confined to statements of beliefs only on interlocutory applications.
4. None of the above.

Q10) Where immovable property forms one estate situated within the local limits of the jurisdiction of two or more courts:-

1. Anyone court may sell the entire estate.
2. The Court can sell only that part which is within its jurisdiction.
3. None of the courts can sell any part of the estate.
4. That Court can sell the entire estate within whose jurisdiction the majority of the property is situated.

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