AP ADJ NEW SYLLABUS

1. Introduction

Under the Andhra Pradesh State Judicial (Service and Cadre) Rules, 2026, notified by G.O.Ms.No.57 dated 16 July 2026, the expression “District Judge” includes Additional District Judge. It also includes Sessions Judge and Additional Sessions Judge, Chief Judge and Additional Chief Judge of the City Civil Courts and City Small Causes Courts, and a large number of specialised posts — Family Court, Mahila Court, POCSO Court, Commercial Court, CBI Court, ACB Court, Labour Court, MACT and others listed in the Interpretation Clause.

Appointment to this cadre is therefore appointment as District Judge (Entry Level). An officer so appointed may be posted as Additional District Judge or against any of the equivalent posts named above. This article sets out the three sources of recruitment, eligibility, examination scheme and the full syllabus in Schedule–C, so that candidates at Aravind Rao Judicial Academy can prepare with precision.

2. Three Sources of Appointment

The Governor is the Appointing Authority. Rule VI divides the cadre as follows. If candidates are not available for the 25 per cent LDCE quota, or do not qualify in a panel year, those posts revert to regular promotion.

Source of recruitment	Share of cadre strength
Direct Recruitment (DR) from the Bar	25%
Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE)	25%
Regular Promotion from Civil Judge (Senior Division)	50%

Seniority among persons appointed by direct recruitment, LDCE and regular promotion is fixed according to the forty-point roster in Schedule–F. Where two or more persons are appointed simultaneously, inter-se seniority follows the order of merit.

3. Eligibility

3.1 Direct Recruitment from the Bar

A person to be appointed as District Judge (Entry Level) by direct recruitment shall:

•    Have practised as an advocate for not less than seven years as on the date of publication of the notification. Combined standing of seven years or more as an advocate or a judicial officer also qualifies. Assistant Public Prosecutors, Additional Public Prosecutors and Public Prosecutors with a combined standing of seven years as advocate or in service are eligible.

•    Not be a full-time salaried Law Officer in the employment of the Central Government, a State Government, or any public corporation or body constituted by statute.

•    Have completed 35 years of age and not have completed 45 years of age as on the first day of the month of notification. The upper age limit is relaxable by three years for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections.

•    Be of good character and free from any infirmity that renders the candidate unfit for the post.

Disqualifications include: not being a citizen of India; dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement from Judicial Service or any State or Central Government service; conviction for an offence involving moral turpitude; permanent debarment by the High Court, UPSC or a State PSC; influencing the recruiting authority; having more than one spouse living; marrying a person who already has a spouse; and conviction in connection with a crime involving moral turpitude.

3.2 Limited Departmental Competitive Examination

The candidate must have put in not less than three years of qualifying service as Civil Judge (Senior Division) by 31 March of the year, and a total of not less than seven years including service as Civil Judge (Junior Division). The candidate must have completed 35 years of age as on the first day of the month of notification.

Ineligible: an officer who has committed copying or misconduct in the Screening Test or written examination; who has been convicted in a criminal case; who has been compulsorily retired, removed or dismissed from Judicial Service or any other service; who failed to complete probation in any such post; who has been found to be of doubtful integrity in any year; or who is facing disciplinary charges or undergoing punishment.

3.3 Regular Promotion from Civil Judge (Senior Division)

The officer shall have put in at least five years of qualifying service as Civil Judge (Senior Division) by 31 March of the year, and shall have completed 35 years of age as on the first day of the month in which the High Court publishes the notification calling for judgments for viva voce. Appointment is on the basis of merit-cum-seniority.

Doubtful integrity in any year, pending disciplinary charges, or a subsisting punishment, bars consideration. Suitability is assessed on the following factors:

1.   Whether the candidate possesses updated knowledge of law.

2.   Quality of judgments rendered by the officer.

3.   Annual Confidential Reports of the preceding five years.

4.   Disposal rate in the preceding five years.

5.   Performance in the viva voce.

6.   General perception, awareness and communication skills.

In addition, the candidate shall undergo a viva voce of 50 marks to assess legal knowledge and fitness for higher duties. A minimum of 50 per cent in the viva voce is required.

4. Recruitment Calendar

•    On or before 15 March every year the Registry informs the Recruitment Wing of existing vacancies and vacancies likely to arise within one year.

•    The vacancy position is placed on the High Court website by 31 March.

•    Notification is issued on the High Court website and in at least two newspapers (one Telugu and one English).

•    A Screening Test (online multiple-choice) may be held. Candidates scoring 40 per cent and above are short-listed in the ratio of 1:10 of vacancies. Identical marks in a category are all called. Qualifying in the Screening Test confers no right to sit the written examination.

•    The High Court prepares a merit list equal to notified vacancies and a waiting list of ten per cent of vacancies or one, whichever is higher. The waiting list lasts six months from publication of the provisional list, or until the next notification, whichever is earlier.

•    The Government shall, within two months of receiving names, complete antecedent verification and medical examination. No direct recruit is appointed without a medical fitness certificate from the authority specified by the High Court.

•    Fee is fixed in the notification. SC, ST and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities pay one-half of the specified fee. Direct recruits who fail to join within the time allowed, or any further time granted by the High Court, are deleted from the selection list.

5. Scheme of Examination (Direct Recruitment and LDCE)

The same pattern and the same syllabus (Schedule–C) apply to direct recruitment and to promotion through LDCE. Reservation under Rules 22 and 22-A of the Andhra Pradesh State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1996 applies to direct recruitment (SC, ST, BC, EWS, Women and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) and, so far as it relates to SC and ST, to LDCE.

Paper	Subject	Marks / Duration
Paper-I	Constitution and Civil Laws	100 marks / 3 hours
Paper-II	Criminal Laws	100 marks / 3 hours
Paper-III	English — Part-I Translation (40) + Part-II Legal Essay (60)	100 marks / 3 hours
Viva Voce	Suitability for the District Judge cadre	50 marks

Paper-III is divided into Part-I (translation of a passage from English to Telugu and Telugu to English) and Part-II (essay on a legal subject only). Medium is English except the translation paper. Candidates must secure 40 per cent in each Part of Paper-III. Marks of Paper-III are not added for viva voce eligibility or for selection. Only Paper-I, Paper-II and viva voce count for ranking.

5.1 Qualifying Marks for Viva Voce

Candidates are called in the ratio of 1:3 of available vacancies. Identical cut-off marks are all called. Absence from viva voce is a disqualification.

Category	Minimum in each of Papers I & II	Minimum aggregate (Papers I + II)
Open / EWS (Direct Recruitment)	55%	60%
Backward Classes (Direct Recruitment)	50%	55%
SC / ST / PwBD (Direct Recruitment)	45%	50%
LDCE candidates (all)	55%	60%

5.2 Final Selection Cut-offs

In a tie on written examination plus viva voce, the elder in age is preferred; if age is equal, higher educational qualification; if that is equal, higher marks in the prescribed educational qualification.

Category	Minimum aggregate (Papers I + II + Viva Voce)
Open / EWS (Direct Recruitment)	60%
Backward Classes (Direct Recruitment)	55%
SC / ST / Persons with Benchmark Disabilities	50%
LDCE	60%

The written examination tests academic knowledge. The viva voce tests mental alertness, knowledge of law, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgment, skills, attitude, ethics, power of assimilation, power of communication, character and intellectual depth. Copying, misconduct, criminal conviction, dismissal or failed probation bars appearance. The High Court’s decision on eligibility is final.

6. Syllabus — Schedule–C

Schedule–C governs the Screening Test and the written examination for District Judge (Entry Level) by direct recruitment and by LDCE. Paper-I is styled “Constitution and Civil Laws”. Both the pre-2023 codes and the new criminal laws of 2023 appear in Paper-II. Candidates must map corresponding sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.

6.1 Constitution and Civil Laws (Paper-I)

1.   The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

2.   The Indian Evidence Act, 1872

3.   The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA)

4.   The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013

5.   Tenancy laws, including land reforms and ceiling

6.   The Constitution of India

7.   Administrative Law

8.   The Transfer of Property Act, 1882

9.   The Indian Contract Act, 1872

10.       The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988

11.       The Specific Relief Act, 1963

12.       Laws on inheritance, succession, marriage, divorce, adoption, guardianship and custody, including in-country and inter-country adoptions

13.       The Family Courts Act, 1984

14.       The Indian Easements Act, 1882

15.       The Law of Torts

16.       The Limitation Act, 1963

17.       The Patents Act, 1970

18.       The Copyright Act, 1957

19.       The Trade Marks Act, 1999

20.       The Registration Act, 1908 and the Stamp Act, 1899

21.       The Sale of Goods Act, 1930

22.       The Guardian and Wards Act, 1890

23.       The Indian Trusts Act, 1882

6.2 Criminal Laws (Paper-II)

1.   The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

2.   The Indian Evidence Act, 1872

3.   The Indian Penal Code, 1860

4.   The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS)

5.   The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA)

6.   The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS)

7.   The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955

8.   The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

9.   The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (Sections 138 to 148)

10.       The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985

11.       The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988

12.       The A.P. Excise Act, 1968

13.       The A.P. Prohibition Act, 1995

14.       The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972

15.       The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015

16.       The Electricity Act, 2003

17.       The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

18.       The Arms Act, 1959

19.       The A.P. Forest Act, 1967

6.3 English — Paper-III

Part-I tests bidirectional translation between English and Telugu. Part-II is an essay on a legal subject only. Forty per cent in each part is mandatory. The paper is qualifying; its marks do not enter the merit list. At District Judge level the essay is expected to show doctrinal command and an ability to write as a trial court of plenary civil and sessions jurisdiction would write.

7. How Schedule–C Differs from the Junior Civil Judge Syllabus

Paper-I is no longer a list of first-instance civil statutes alone. The Constitution of India and Administrative Law sit at the centre. Land acquisition, tenancy and ceiling, Motor Vehicles Act, Family Courts Act, torts, intellectual property (Patents, Copyright, Trade Marks), Sale of Goods, Trusts and Guardian and Wards are added because an Additional District Judge tries original suits of unlimited pecuniary jurisdiction, first appeals, land-acquisition references, MACTs and family-court work.

Paper-II is heavier on special statutes that a Sessions Judge actually tries — Prevention of Corruption Act, NDPS Act, SC/ST (POA) Act, Electricity Act, Arms Act, Wildlife Act and A.P. Prohibition Act. The Negotiable Instruments Act is confined to Sections 138 to 148. Candidates who recycle a Junior Civil Judge reading list without these additions will be under-prepared.

8. Selection Grade and Super Time Scale

After appointment as District Judge (Entry Level), further advancement is by conferment of Selection Grade and Super Time Scale on a merit-cum-seniority basis.

Cadre	Eligibility	Ceiling
Selection Grade	Five years as District Judge (Entry Level)	35% of District Judge cadre strength
Super Time Scale	Three years as Selection Grade District Judge	15% of District Judge cadre strength

Selection Grade requires assessment of “Satisfactory” or above in at least seven of ten assessments spread over the immediately preceding five years. Super Time Scale requires “Satisfactory” or above in at least four of six assessments in the immediately preceding three years. No departmental or criminal proceeding should be pending; charges should not have been framed for misconduct, moral turpitude, lack of integrity or dereliction of duty; and the officer should not have been punished on those grounds. Deputation is treated as “satisfactory”. Duration of deputation is reckoned in half-years (a fraction exceeding three months counts as one half-year).

9. Training, Probation and Service Conditions

Every person appointed by direct recruitment as District Judge shall undergo training at the Andhra Pradesh Judicial Academy for six months, or such period and in such spells as the High Court deems fit. The High Court may shorten the period owing to exigency of service.

A direct recruit is on probation for two years from the date of joining. A person appointed otherwise than by direct recruitment is on officiation for two years. The High Court may extend either period, not beyond the original length. Confirmation follows satisfactory completion against a substantive vacancy. An unsuitable probationer may be discharged after one month’s notice or pay in lieu. An unsuitable officiating promotee may be reverted to the post held before promotion.

An advocate appointed by direct recruitment as District Judge may reckon, as service qualifying for superannuation pension, actual Bar practice not exceeding seven years. Direct recruits are exempted from Accounts, language and other departmental tests; the Academy training certificate is treated as a pass. Superannuation is at 61 years, or such further age as the Government may fix. All postings and transfers are made by the High Court.

10. Preparation Plan for Aspirants

1.   Build Paper-I around the Constitution (Parts III, IV, V, VI, XIV and the amending power), principles of administrative law, CPC (jurisdiction, pleadings, appeals, execution, Order XLI and Order XLIII) and the two evidence statutes. Add land acquisition, family law and Motor Vehicles Act as high-frequency trial work of an Additional District Judge.

2.   On Paper-II, do not stop at IPC/CrPC or BNS/BNSS. Sessions work is dominated by POCSO-adjacent fact patterns, SC/ST (POA), PC Act, NDPS, Electricity Act and Arms Act. Prepare section maps between the old and new codes and keep a short note of special-statute ingredients and sentence structure.

3.   Practise English–Telugu legal translation daily. Paper-III is qualifying; a weak translation paper eliminates an otherwise strong candidate. Write one timed legal essay each week on a constitutional or criminal-procedure theme.

4.   Bar candidates should keep seven-year practice proof in the form required by the High Court. In-service candidates for LDCE should confirm three years as Civil Judge (Senior Division) and seven years total service as on 31 March of the panel year, and should have a clean disciplinary record.

5.   Candidates for regular promotion should select their best five years of judgments, know their disposal figures and ACR grading, and prepare for a 50-mark viva voce in which 50 per cent is the floor, not a target.

6.   Watch the High Court website from March each year for the vacancy statement and the notification. Do not rely on unofficial summaries for dates or vacancies.

11. Closing Note

District Judge (Entry Level) is the first court of plenary civil and sessions jurisdiction in the district. The 2026 Rules keep the classic 25–25–50 split, add a published annual calendar, and place the Constitution, administrative law and the 2023 criminal codes at the centre of the written examination. Candidates who treat Schedule–C as a District Judge’s working library — not as a longer version of the Junior Civil Judge list — will be correctly aimed.

Aravind Rao Judicial Academy will align lectures, judgment-writing labs, translation drills and mock vivas with this syllabus. Aspirants, whether from the Bar or from the Senior Division, are advised to begin with the Constitution, CPC, the two evidence statutes and the special criminal Acts that a Sessions Judge actually tries.

Aravind Rao Judicial Academy

Source: The Andhra Pradesh State Judicial (Service and Cadre) Rules, 2026 — G.O.Ms.No.57 dated 16-07-2026, Rule VI and Schedule–C