Allahabad High Court RO Exam Pattern 2026: Stages and Marks

The Allahabad High Court RO exam pattern for 2026 has three stages: an objective General Studies test, a subjective Main Examination and a typing-based Computer Knowledge Test. The High Court of Judicature at Allahabad notified this scheme in its detailed advertisement of 01 June 2026, and the same single examination is used to select Review Officers, Assistant Review Officers and Computer Assistants.

This is a major change from the 2021 cycle, when selection rested on one computer-based objective paper and a typing test. Now the objective paper only shortlists, and your final rank depends on writing and typing. This page explains each stage, the marking rules, how the final merit is calculated and how to divide your time.

Table of Contents

• Exam Pattern at a Glance

• Stage-I Pattern: Objective Test

• Stage-II Pattern: Main Examination

• Stage-III Pattern: Computer Knowledge Test

• Marking Scheme and Negative Marking

• What the Pattern Means for You

• How Stage-I Shortlisting Works by Category

• Final Merit Calculation

• Language, Mode and Exam-Day Rules

• Time Management and Exam-Day Strategy

• Where to Put Your Preparation Hours

• Old Pattern vs New Pattern

Exam Pattern at a Glance

There is no interview. Stage-I is held first; Stage-II and Stage-III are held later, on a single day, for shortlisted candidates.

Stage-I Pattern: Objective Test

• Mode: Pen and paper, answers marked on an OMR sheet.

• Language: Question paper in English and Hindi. If the two versions differ, the English version is final.

• Qualifying rule: No minimum qualifying marks.

• Shortlisting: Candidates equal to seven times the number of vacancies in each category, for each post, are called for Stage-II on the basis of Stage-I merit.

• Subjects: General science, history, national movement, polity, economy and culture, agriculture and trade, population and ecology, geography, current events, general aptitude, Uttar Pradesh special knowledge, General English and Hindi, and elementary computers.

The advertisement does not fix the number of questions per subject, so expect the mix to vary. With 138 RO vacancies, roughly 966 candidates would be shortlisted for the Review Officer post on the seven-times rule, though this is only an illustration, since shortlisting runs category-wise.

Stage-II Pattern: Main Examination

Stage-II is a conventional written paper. You must score at least 50 out of 150 to be considered for the final merit list. Only candidates shortlisted from Stage-I sit this paper.

Stage-III Pattern: Computer Knowledge Test

Marking Scheme and Negative Marking

• Stage-I: One mark per question and no negative marking. Blank answers simply earn nothing.

• Stage-II: Marks awarded by evaluators for each section. There is no negative marking, but grammar, accuracy and presentation affect your score.

• Stage-III: No negative marking in the usual sense, but each typing mistake reduces your score by 0.1 mark. Left-out words and spelling errors count as full mistakes, and words typed beyond the limit are ignored.

In Stage-III, the deduction works as $\text{Marks lost} = 0.1 \times \text{number of mistakes}$. So 10 mistakes cost 1 mark, and 50 mistakes cost 5 marks, which can decide a close final rank.

What the Pattern Means for You

• Attempt every Stage-I question: With no negative marking, a blank is always worse than an educated guess.

• Stage-I is about rank, not marks: You need to finish inside the top seven times the vacancies of your category, so a safe score is a high one.

• Stage-II carries 75 percent of the final merit: 150 of the 200 merit marks come from writing, so essay, precis, translation and comprehension practice is the real differentiator.

• Comprehension is the single largest section: At 40 marks, it is worth more than the essay or precis.

• Typing accuracy is worth marks: Stage-III is not just a pass test; a clean passage directly adds to your rank.

How Stage-I Shortlisting Works by Category

Stage-I has no pass mark. Instead, the High Court calls candidates equal to seven times the vacancies in each category, for each post, to Stage-II. Applied to the 2026 Review Officer vacancies, the numbers look like this:

These shortlist sizes are worked out from the official ratio and vacancy table; they are not official figures, and the actual lists can differ because of ties, horizontal reservation and any change in vacancies. Since ARO and Computer Assistant are shortlisted the same way against their own vacancies, many more candidates will sit Stage-II overall.

The practical point is that the Stage-I cut-off is simply the score of the last candidate who makes the list in your category. If many well-prepared candidates apply, that score rises, so aim for a comfortable margin rather than a guess about where the line will fall.

Final Merit Calculation

The final merit is the aggregate of Stage-II and Stage-III marks: $\text{Final score} = \text{Stage-II} + \text{Stage-III}$, out of 200. Stage-I marks are not added.

Here is how the arithmetic works for Candidate A: $98 + 44 = 142$ out of 200. These are illustrative numbers, not actual scores. Candidate A ranks above B despite a lower Stage-I score, because Stage-I is not counted. Candidate C is out despite strong typing, because Stage-II was below the qualifying mark.

If two candidates tie, the older candidate ranks higher. If they are the same age, higher Stage-II marks decide, and then higher Stage-I marks. Results for RO, ARO and Computer Assistant are prepared separately; a candidate selected as RO is not considered for the other two posts.

Language, Mode and Exam-Day Rules

• Dates and venue: The date, time and venue of each stage are announced through public notices, and the exam centre is printed on the admit card.

• Rough work: In Stage-I, rough work is done on the sheet provided in the question booklet, not on the OMR.

• Answer key: Provisional answer keys are displayed online for two to three days. Each challenge costs Rs. 500 per question, refunded if the challenge is accepted.

• No scribe or extra time: The advertisement states there is no provision for a scribe or compensatory time for candidates with disabilities.

Time Management and Exam-Day Strategy

Stage-I (180 minutes)

• First pass, about 100 minutes: Answer everything you know in order, marking the OMR as you go.

• Second pass, about 50 minutes: Return to doubtful questions and eliminate options.

• Last 20 to 30 minutes: Fill every remaining bubble and check roll number entries.

Stage-II (120 minutes)

This is a suggested split, not an official rule. Adjust it after timed practice papers.

Stage-II Answer-Writing Tips

• Essay: Plan for two minutes before writing. Use a one-line introduction, two or three focused paragraphs and a short conclusion, and stay close to 200 words.

• Precis: Count the words in the passage, target about one-third, and write in your own words. Add a title if the question asks for one.

• Translation: Read the whole passage before translating so you capture the meaning, then check tense and number in every sentence.

• Comprehension: Answer only from the passage, in complete sentences, and do not add outside opinions.

• Presentation: Write legibly, leave a line between paragraphs and number answers exactly as in the question paper.

Stage-III (20 minutes)

• Use the 20-minute gap: Relax your hands after the written paper.

• Type steadily: At 25 words per minute, a 500-word passage needs the full 20 minutes, so aim for a practised speed well above that.

• Do not skip words: A skipped word is a full mistake.

Where to Put Your Preparation Hours

The pattern tells you where marks come from, and your study time should follow the same logic. The split below is a suggested starting point for a candidate with about four hours a day; adjust it to your strengths.

Many candidates focus only on the objective paper until the Stage-I result and then find too little time for writing. Because Stage-II and Stage-III follow soon after shortlisting, start all three together. Testkart's online tests are useful for the Stage-I part of this plan, while writing practice is best checked by a teacher or a study partner.

Old Pattern vs New Pattern