BPSC 33rd Judicial Services: Prelims Postponed, 173 Posts

Where the 33rd Bihar Judicial Services actually stands

The 33rd Bihar Judicial Services Competitive Examination — BPSC Advertisement No. 12/2026, for 173 posts of Civil Judge (Junior Division) — is on hold, and it is on hold because of a court order, not a commission delay. The preliminary examination was scheduled for 3 June 2026 in Patna and was postponed until further orders after the Supreme Court's interim order dated 22 May 2026 in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1110/2025. BPSC's official exam calendar, re-checked against the version dated 14 August 2026, still carries the examination with the remark "Stay orders from Honourable Supreme Court." As of this update, BPSC has announced no revised date, and any website or video giving you one is guessing.

This is the second time the same litigation has reshaped this recruitment. The advertisement was published on 23 February 2026 and applications originally ran from 25 February to 18 March 2026. Following the Supreme Court's judgment dated 13 March 2026 in the same writ petition, BPSC extended the application deadline to 30 April 2026. Admit cards for the 3 June prelims were issued in May — and then the 22 May interim order stopped the examination itself. Everyone who applied remains in the process; nothing about the postponement cancels applications or fees.

The recruitment, in full

Posts and reservation. 173 Civil Judge (Junior Division) vacancies: Unreserved 69, EBC 36, SC 28, BC 21, EWS 17, ST 2 — with 35% horizontal reservation for women (61 posts) and 1% (2 posts) for locomotor disability.

Eligibility. A law degree (LLB) from an institution recognised by the Bar Council of India, plus at least three years of practice as an advocate as on 23 February 2026, counted from provisional enrolment with the State Bar Council; experience as a law clerk to a judge also counts. The three-year practice requirement is the defining filter of this cycle and sits at the heart of the current litigation environment for judicial services nationally — which is precisely why candidates should read BPSC's notices rather than summaries when the process resumes.

Age. Minimum 22 and maximum 35 years as on 1 August 2025, with the upper limit rising to 40 for reserved-category candidates and women under the applicable relaxation rules.

Fee. A flat ₹100 for all categories under Bihar's uniform preliminary-examination fee, plus a ₹200 biometric fee for candidates who did not provide an Aadhaar number.

The exam pattern you are preparing for

Prelims (objective, screening only): two papers — General Studies (100 marks) and Law (150 marks) — 250 marks in total, with one-third negative marking. The postponed 3 June schedule had the two papers in two sittings on one day in Patna.

Mains (descriptive): five compulsory papers and three optional papers, followed by a personality test of 100 marks. Only candidates who clear the prelims cut-off write the mains; final merit rests on mains plus interview performance.

Pay: Civil Judge (Junior Division) entry pay begins at ₹77,840 per month plus allowances under the applicable judicial pay structure.

What to do while the exam is stayed

1. Do not stop preparing, but re-pace.A stayed exam resumes on a court's calendar, not BPSC's. Expect a fresh examination programme notice — realistically with a few weeks between notice and exam — rather than a long runway.
2. Protect your documents.Keep your enrolment certificate, practice experience proof and category certificates ready and consistent; if the litigation changes any eligibility counting rule, BPSC's corrigendum will ask for exactly these.
3. Trust only two sources:the "What's New" board and the examination calendar on bpsc.bihar.gov.in. The admit card you downloaded in May is not valid for a future date unless BPSC says so; a fresh download window is the normal pattern after a postponement.
4. Use the pause on the mains.Most candidates under-prepare the descriptive papers during prelims season. Five compulsory papers are where this examination is actually won, and the stay has handed serious candidates uncommon time to write answers.

Common mistakes right now

Believing a "new date" circulating on social media — BPSC has published none. Letting the practice-certificate paperwork lapse while waiting. Assuming the recruitment is cancelled — a stay is a pause imposed by the court, and BPSC's own calendar continues to carry the examination as pending, not withdrawn. And stopping study entirely: when a stayed examination resumes, it resumes for everyone at once, and the candidates who treated the stay as a holiday compete against those who treated it as extra mains preparation.

The next real event in this recruitment will be a BPSC notice — either a revised examination programme after the court's order, or a further postponement. Until one of those appears on bpsc.bihar.gov.in, the accurate status of the 33rd Bihar Judicial Services is exactly this: applications closed, prelims postponed, no new date.

Related guides on StudyDesk