Haryana Judiciary Syllabus 2026: Prelims and Mains Guide
The Haryana Judiciary syllabus is shorter on paper than most state judicial exams, but it runs deep. The official scheme for the Haryana Civil Service (Judicial Branch) exam lists the statutes for each Main paper, and the preliminary exam draws on the same statutes along with general awareness and aptitude. Because the list names acts rather than chapters, the real work lies in knowing which provisions examiners keep returning to.
This page sets out the syllabus as given in HPSC Advertisement No. 1/2024, the latest completed cycle, and turns it into a working checklist. It also flags the one change you cannot ignore: the criminal law paper was framed around the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act, which have since been replaced by three new codes.
Table of Contents
Syllabus at a Glance
Stage | Paper | Questions or format | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Prelims | Objective screening test | 125 MCQs | 500 | 2 hours |
Mains | Civil Law I | Descriptive | 200 | 3 hours |
Mains | Civil Law II | Descriptive | 200 | 3 hours |
Mains | Criminal Law | Descriptive | 200 | 3 hours |
Mains | English | Descriptive | 200 | 3 hours |
Mains | Hindi (Devanagari) | Descriptive | 100 | 3 hours |
Viva voce | Interview in English | Personality assessment | 200 | Not fixed |
Key Changes to Know
New criminal laws: The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) came into force on 1 July 2024, replacing the IPC, CrPC and Indian Evidence Act. The 2024 advertisement predates this, so the next syllabus is expected to name the new codes. This is tentative until the notification is issued.
Evidence appears twice: Evidence law was listed under both Civil Law I and Criminal Law. Under the new framework, that means the BSA is relevant to two papers.
No change notified to paper structure: Nothing published so far changes the five-paper Main exam or its marks. The August 2026 Haryana rule amendment dealt mainly with eligibility, grades and pay.
Older pages may still show only the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act, so follow the official notification when it is released on https://hpsc.gov.in/.
Preliminary Exam Syllabus
The advertisement states that prelims questions are drawn from the Main exam syllabus. It adds that candidates should have a general and basic overview of the main subjects, along with current affairs, Indian legal and constitutional history, governance, analytical skills, reasoning and aptitude, at the level of a law graduate.
The official scheme does not give a topic-wise split for prelims. The table below is a working checklist built from the official subject list and the kind of questions asked in earlier papers. Use it as a guide, not as an official list.
Area | Topics to cover | Start with |
|---|---|---|
Civil procedure and courts | Jurisdiction, res judicata, pleadings, summons, judgments and decrees, execution, appeals, temporary injunctions, Punjab Courts Act | Sections 9 to 11, Order VII, Order XXXIX of the CPC |
Contract and commercial law | Offer and acceptance, consideration, void and voidable contracts, breach, partnership, sale of goods, specific relief | Contract Act Sections 1 to 75 |
Personal and customary law | Hindu marriage, succession, adoption and guardianship; Muslim marriage, dower, gifts and inheritance; Punjab customary law | Hindu Succession Act and Hindu Marriage Act |
Limitation and registration | Computation of limitation, condonation of delay, compulsory and optional registration | Limitation Act Sections 3 to 5 and the Schedule |
Criminal law | General exceptions, offences against the body and property, arrest, bail, charge, trial procedure | General exceptions and bail provisions |
Evidence | Relevancy, admissions, confessions, dying declarations, burden of proof, presumptions, examination of witnesses | Admissions and confessions |
Rent law | Grounds for eviction and the role of the Rent Controller under the Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973 | Eviction grounds |
General awareness | Current affairs, constitutional and legal history, governance | Recent legal developments and landmark judgments |
Reasoning and aptitude | Analytical and logical reasoning at graduate level | Legal reasoning sets |
Most prelims marks come from the law subjects, so give them the bulk of your time. Bare-act wording, section numbers and leading judgments are where close options are usually separated.
Main Exam Syllabus: Civil Law I
The 2024 advertisement lists these statutes for Paper I (200 marks).
Statute | Suggested focus areas |
|---|---|
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 | Jurisdiction, res judicata, institution of suits, pleadings, issues, interim orders, judgment, decree, execution, appeals, revision, review |
Punjab Courts Act, 1918 (as applicable to Haryana) | Classes of civil courts, pecuniary jurisdiction, appeals from subordinate courts |
Indian Contract Act, 1872 | Formation, capacity, free consent, void agreements, contingent contracts, breach and damages, indemnity, guarantee, bailment, agency |
Indian Partnership Act, 1932 | Nature of partnership, rights and duties of partners, registration, dissolution |
Sale of Goods Act, 1930 | Conditions and warranties, transfer of property, unpaid seller's rights |
Specific Relief Act, 1963 | Recovery of possession, specific performance after the 2018 amendment, declaratory decrees, injunctions |
Evidence law | Indian Evidence Act in the 2024 list; the BSA is expected in its place |
Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973 | Fair rent, eviction grounds, procedure, appeals |
Questions in this paper often take the form of a fact situation. You may be asked to frame issues, decide an interim application or draft the operative part of a judgment, so practise applying the CPC to facts rather than only reproducing sections.
Main Exam Syllabus: Civil Law II
Paper II (200 marks) covers personal and customary law, along with registration and limitation.
Hindu Law
Marriage and divorce: Conditions of a valid marriage, void and voidable marriages, restitution, judicial separation, divorce grounds.
Succession: Intestate succession for males and females, coparcenary rights after the 2005 amendment, disqualifications.
Adoption, maintenance and guardianship: Requirements for a valid adoption, maintenance claims, natural and testamentary guardians.
Mohammedan Law
Marriage and dower: Essentials, kinds of marriage, dower and its enforcement.
Dissolution: Forms of divorce and the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939.
Property: Gifts (hiba), wills, wakf and inheritance shares.
Customary Law
Punjab customary law still shapes succession and alienation questions in rural Haryana. Focus on the sources of custom, how custom is proved, and its relationship with codified Hindu law.
Law of Registration and Limitation
Registration Act, 1908: Documents requiring compulsory registration, the effect of non-registration, time for presentation.
Limitation Act, 1963: Bar of limitation, extension of time, legal disability, exclusion of time, and the key articles in the Schedule.
Main Exam Syllabus: Criminal Law
Paper III (200 marks) covered the IPC, CrPC and Indian Evidence Act in the 2024 advertisement. The table maps these to the new codes so you can study in the current law while still recognising old section numbers.
2024 syllabus | Current law | Core areas |
|---|---|---|
Indian Penal Code, 1860 | Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 | General exceptions, abetment, conspiracy, offences against the body, women, property and the state, new offences such as organised crime |
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 | Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 | Arrest, bail, FIR and investigation, cognizance, charge, trial, judgment, appeals, plea bargaining |
Indian Evidence Act, 1872 | Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 | Relevancy, electronic records, confessions, burden of proof, witness examination |
Cases registered before 1 July 2024 can still be tried under the old codes, so expect occasional questions that test both. Keep a section-mapping sheet and revise it every week.
Language Papers: English and Hindi
English (200 marks)
Component | Marks |
|---|---|
Essay of about 1,000 to 1,100 words | 100 |
Precis writing | 25 |
Words and phrases | 25 |
Comprehension | 25 |
Corrections | 25 |
Hindi (100 marks)
Component | Marks |
|---|---|
Translation from English into Hindi | 20 |
Explanation of Hindi prose and poetry | 30 |
Composition: essay, idioms, corrections and similar | 50 |
The Hindi paper is set at the standard of the Haryana Board matriculation exam and must be written in Devanagari. Candidates from outside Haryana, or those who studied in English medium, often underestimate it. Since a paper earns credit only above 33 percent, a weak Hindi score can hurt the aggregate more than expected.
Overlap Between Prelims and Mains
Area | Prelims | Mains | How to plan |
|---|---|---|---|
CPC and civil statutes | Section-level recall | Application to facts, judgment writing | Read bare acts once with both aims; note sections and illustrations together |
Personal law | Specific rules and shares | Problem questions on succession and marriage | Make one chart of succession rules for both stages |
Criminal law and evidence | Definitions and exceptions | Case analysis and procedure | Study the new codes with an old-to-new mapping |
General awareness and reasoning | Directly tested | Useful for the essay and the viva | Keep monthly current affairs notes |
English and Hindi | Not tested separately | 300 marks in total | Begin writing practice early, alongside law |
Viva Voce: Is There a Syllabus?
No. The viva voce has no prescribed syllabus. It is held in English and assesses personal qualities, alertness, intelligence and general outlook. In practice, expect questions on your Main exam subjects, recent judgments, your background and current issues in Haryana and the legal system.
How to Cover the Syllabus
Weeks 1 to 8, foundations: Read the CPC, Contract Act, BNS and Hindu law bare acts with a standard textbook. Start 30 minutes of daily newspaper reading and one Hindi writing exercise a week.
Weeks 9 to 14, the remaining statutes: Cover the Specific Relief Act, Limitation, Registration, Punjab Courts Act, rent law, Mohammedan law and customary law. Build your old-to-new criminal law mapping sheet.
Weeks 15 to 20, prelims practice: Take topic tests for each act, then sectional tests mixing two or three acts. For this phase, you can use topic-wise Haryana Judiciary online tests on Testkart and track which acts produce the most wrong answers.
Final weeks before prelims: Attempt full-length mocks in the 125-question format, analyse them the same day, and revise from your error log.
After prelims: Shift to answer writing, judgment writing, essays, precis and Hindi translation under timed conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
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