Introduction
When it comes to the judicial system of this country the Supreme Court is not just the apex court but holds the revered status of being a temple of justice. This institution thus has the constitutional responsibility of ensuring that WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, live in a just society.
The idea of one day arguing before the Supreme Court is a dream for most law students when they enter law school. We often derive our inspiration from the excitement that beholds the decision making process behind landmark judgments as old as the Keshvanand Bharti’s Case and as new as the Naz Foundation Judgment.
In this perspective one must consider whether becoming a judge who dreams of entering the Supreme Court one day or serving as an Advocate-on-Record or a practicing litigant are the only options through which one may contribute towards the functioning of this prestigious institution.
The answer to the above question is a resounding NO. The Supreme Court of India gives an opportunity to final year law students as well as fresh graduates to understand its workings by joining in as Judicial clerks cum Research Assistant to the serving judges of the Supreme Court.
This exciting opportunity does expose a student of law to the in depth understanding of various matters that are argued before the Supreme Court within its Original, Writ and Appellate jurisdictions by undertaking the following responsibilities:
- Maintaining the libraries of judges by updating appropriate documents
- Attending sessions of Courts to record necessary information
- Drafting or proofreading judicial opinions, decisions, or citations.
- Participate in conferences between judges and attorney
- Prepare briefs, statements of issues involved in cases.
- Research laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases.
Thus, the role of a Law Clerk cum Research Assistant is multifaceted and equips an individual not only with tremendous amounts of research, reading, writing and analytical skills, but also gives an opportunity towards bringing in an effective change in this country by contributing to the judicial wing. Not only this, the opportunity also adds an extra star in your CV and work experience particularly if you wish to become a judge in the subordinate judiciary, join a policy think tank for higher research or simply ace litigation.
Career opportunity after pursuing the short-term clerkship
- Prepare for Judiciary/ UPSC and other competitive exams (law) after having a close vision of the workings of the apex Court.
- Pursue a career in litigation with a good amount of experience and acquaintances in the Supreme Court of India
- Become an Advocate-on-Record after getting an exposure to a pool of practical knowledge and day-to-day workings of the Court.
- Pursue higher research/ higher studies with a good educational institution within India or abroad.
Before getting into the strategies required for preparing this exam, let’s figure out whether you fit in the eligibility criteria of this exam or not:
Eligibility Criteria
- The candidate must be a law graduate (as on the date of appearing at interview) having a Bachelor Degree in Law (including Integrated Degree Course in Law) from any School/College/University/Institution established by law in India and recognized by the Bar Council of India for enrolment as an Advocate.
- Candidates studying in the fifth year of the Five-Year Integrated Law Course will also be eligible to apply subject to furnishing proof of acquiring Law qualification at the time of interview/before taking up the assignment as Law Clerk-cum-Research Assistant.
- The candidate must have knowledge of computers including retrieval of desired information from various search engines/processes such as Manupatra, SCC Online, LexisNexis, Westlaw etc.
Age And Nationality
- A candidate must not be below the age of 18 years and above 27 years as on the last date of receipt of applications.
- He must be a citizen of India.
Disqualification
- A candidate must not be a practicing advocate nor engaged/appointed elsewhere on honorarium/payment basis.
- A candidate should not have been involved in any criminal case, whether convicted or against whom criminal trial is pending. A declaration in this behalf shall be made by the candidate.
Character
The candidate must have absolute integrity, honesty and good moral character, for which he/she will submit certificate of two responsible persons.
Syllabus
There are two stages of the selection process:
- Written Test
- Interview
Written Test:
On the basis of the marks secured by a candidate in the test, a merit list is drawn and candidates are shortlisted for an interview (the number of candidates shortlisted for the interview is three times of the number of available positions).
The written test is conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. The applicants are required to choose their Test Centre at which they want to appear while filling the online form.
The test comprises 150 questions. There is one mark for a correct answer and a minus 0.25 for every incorrect answer.
Minimum qualifying marks for the Test are 60% in aggregate with minimum 50% marks for each of the two Sections.
The two sections are:
- General Section and
- Legal section (not necessarily named as such)
Section I is of 50 marks, and tests questions on:
- General English
- General Awareness
Section II is of 100 marks, with questions on:
- Indian Constitution
- Indian Penal Code
- Indian Evidence Act
- Civil Procedure Code
- Criminal Procedure Code
A Walkthrough of LawSikho’s Booster Course
LawSikho has come up with a course to crack the Supreme Court Clerkship exam to not only make you ace the stage of written test, but also the interview stage (the latter may be available at a base top up of Rs. 1500). The Course exhaustively covers all the subjects in the written test with a plethora of Supreme Court judgments through recorded lectures by experts on various topics and an exhaustive question bank in the form of multiple choice questions, along with doubt clearing support as and when required. Check the table below:
Course Structure
Each student who will enroll for this course will get access to these many materials on each modules as mentioned below:
1. General Awareness, Static General Knowledge And Language
2. Law Section:
Who Should Take This Course?
- A law student who thinks he is lacking practical exposure to the workings of the Court.
- A fresh law graduate willing to become a judge and wishes to have a glance at the ground reality.
- Any candidate who wants to excel in litigation and bridge a gap between his law school knowledge and his practicing career.
- A candidate who has a little exposure to the kind of questions tested in exam and requires grooming towards the interview for the exam
What Is Unique About The Course?
- Time & Cost effective: An independent course to crack the said exam has never been offered which would definitely save your time and prove pocket friendly.
- Top notch content: Exhaustive recorded content, topic wise quizzes and assignments will be provided to the students so that they don’t have to purchase any other book or material after taking this course.
- Explanation of concepts through video recordings: To have a better hold on every concept, recorded lectures by experts of an exhaustive list of topics for each subject is provided.
- Special tools to make learning faster and easier: Flow charts, Videos, Mind Maps, Infographics, animations, and much more. All the unique techniques which help in learning things in a faster and better way will be part of our course.
- Doubts resolution through dashboard: Online doubts resolution is provided through a dashboard where one can post their doubts and expect their answers within next 24 hours.
- Practical insights: Practical approach towards various concepts will be provided to help you to write the best solutions to the questions asked in the exams and interviews.
- MCQs: A bank of MCQs will be provided so that you can practice and play with them as much as you can for your preparation.
- Interview support: A student of this course has the opportunity to grab the benefits even at the second stage to be interview ready by renewing the course at a minimum charge.
- Self paced: You can use the reference material provided by us and prepare at your own speed.
- Solutions to queries through various platforms: You can ask your queries to our mentors, experts, evaluators and support team on various platforms like our Learning management system (LMS), WhatsApp groups, emails, calls, live sessions, problem solving sessions, and if required personal sessions through video conferencing.
- Special webinars: Special webinars for sharing insights to crack various competitive exams (law), tricks, myth buster sessions, experience of experts, toppers talk, State specific exam strategies, and much more will be discussed at frequent intervals.
What Is Unique About The Course?
- Time & Cost effective: An independent course to crack the said exam has never been offered which would definitely save your time and prove pocket friendly.
- Top notch content: Exhaustive recorded content, topic wise quizzes and assignments will be provided to the students so that they don’t have to purchase any other book or material after taking this course.
- Explanation of concepts through video recordings: To have a better hold on every concept, recorded lectures by experts of an exhaustive list of topics for each subject is provided.
- Special tools to make learning faster and easier: Flow charts, Videos, Mind Maps, Infographics, animations, and much more. All the unique techniques which help in learning things in a faster and better way will be part of our course.
- Doubts resolution through dashboard: Online doubts resolution is provided through a dashboard where one can post their doubts and expect their answers within next 24 hours.
- Practical insights: Practical approach towards various concepts will be provided to help you to write the best solutions to the questions asked in the exams and interviews.
- MCQs: A bank of MCQs will be provided so that you can practice and play with them as much as you can for your preparation.
- Interview support: A student of this course has the opportunity to grab the benefits even at the second stage to be interview ready by renewing the course at a minimum charge.
- Self paced: You can use the reference material provided by us and prepare at your own speed.
- Solutions to queries through various platforms: You can ask your queries to our mentors, experts, evaluators and support team on various platforms like our Learning management system (LMS), WhatsApp groups, emails, calls, live sessions, problem solving sessions, and if required personal sessions through video conferencing.
- Special webinars: Special webinars for sharing insights to crack various competitive exams (law), tricks, myth buster sessions, experience of experts, toppers talk, State specific exam strategies, and much more will be discussed at frequent intervals.
Training Methodology

Online 24/7 access
Access to basic study material through online learning management system, Android and iOS app

Practical Exercises
2 practical exercises every week, followed by written feedback

Live Online Classes
Based on the exercises, there will be a live video based online class. You can ask questions, share your screen, get personal feedback in this class.

Convenient Class timings
Classes are held after regular work hours. Typically classes are kept on Sunday afternoon or 8-9 pm on other days.

Live Doubt Clearing
You can ask questions, get your doubt cleared live as well as through online forums
Money Back Policy
Candidates enrolled for this course will be eligible for money back policy provided that one should complete 25% of the course within 1 month from the date of their enrollment.
Online Faculty
Course Plan
Above prices are inclusive of all applicable taxes and charges. Option to convert your payment into two instalments is available on checkout page.
Individual strategies and focus areas to crack exams
Get digital access to entire study material
Access on LMS, Android or iOS app
Doubt clearing on WhatsApp, LMS & in classes
Doubt clearing within 24 hours
Guidance for legal practice development
Interview preparation guidance
Access to updated content online for 6 months