Kerala Judicial Service Exam 2024 Munsiff Magistrate Syllabus & Overview

The Kerala Judicial Service Examination, also referred to as the Munsiff Magistrate Exam, is conducted every year by the Kerala High Court – Ernakulam.

The notification is published on the High Court’s official website at : highcourtofkerala.nic.in , the Kerala High Court recruitment portal at : http://hckrecruitment.nic.in and the website of the state’s public service commission (If the exam is conducted by the PSC) at Kerala Public Service Commission.

The Kerala Judicial Service Munsiff Magistrate selection is done through a competitive examination that has two successive stages, consisting of three main components.

• The first stage is the Kerala Judicial Service (Preliminary) Examination, which is a objective – MCQ based exam.
• The second stage is the Kerala Judicial Service (Main) Examination, consisting of a written examination and a viva-voce (Interview).

Note about PDF downloads : While there are PDF download versions of the syllabus available on various websites, they are often not accurate or they are out-dated. To ensure that we can update the syllabus as per the latest pattern, we have published the details below as an editable web-article. If you download the PDF syllabus, please verify the accuracy before starting your exam preparation.

Eligibility and Age Limit – Kerala Judicial Service Munsiff Magistrate 2024 and 2025

Education :  The candidate shall be holder of a degree in Law recognized by the Bar Council of India for the purpose of enrollment as an Advocate.

Age : The candidate shall not have completed 35 years of age as on the date mentioned in the official notification advertisement for the year.

The upper age limit shall be increased by five years in the case of candidates belonging to any of the Scheduled Castes or adult members of such castes and their children when such adult members are converted to other religions, or Scheduled Tribes, and by three years in the case of candidates belonging to any of the Other Backward Classes.

Refer to the official notification for the year for complete details of any restrictions / relaxations in the eligibility conditions.

Structure & Syllabus of the 2024 and 2025 Kerala Judicial Munsiff Magistrate Preliminary Exam

The preliminary examination will consist of one paper (with three parts) of objective type screening test based on the syllabus given below, with 100 multiple choice questions, each carrying two marks.

Maximum marks will be 200 and one mark will be deducted for each incorrect answer (Negative marking). The duration of the preliminary examination will be two hours.

The preliminary examination is conducted for the purpose of shortlisting the candidates and the marks obtained in the preliminary examination shall not be counted for determining the final order or merit of the candidates.

The cut off mark prescribed in the preliminary examination for qualifying for the main written examination is usually 50% for general candidates and 40% for candidates belonging to SC/ST category. Refer to the current year’s advertisement for any changes in the cut-off marks.

For every notified vacancy, 10 candidates from the preliminary examination in the order of merit, shall be selected for the main examination.

Syllabus for the Kerala Judicial Munsiff Magistrate – Preliminary Exam 2024 and 2025

Part A

Code of Civil Procedure,
Indian Contract Act,
Negotiable Instruments Act,
Transfer of Property Act,
Specific Relief Act,
Kerala Building (Lease and Rent Control) Act.

Part B

Code of Criminal Procedure,
Indian Penal Code,
Indian Evidence Act

Part C

Constitution of India,
Legal G.K.,
Reasoning & Mental ability

Keep checking LawMint.com for the latest updates and articles on the best preparation strategy, study material, online courses and mock tests for the 2024 and 2025 Kerala Judicial Service Exam Munsiff Magistrate selection.

Structure & Syllabus of the Kerala Judicial Service Munsiff Magistrate Main Exam

a) Written Examination:

The Kerala Judicial Service Examination (Main) will consist of 4 papers of 3 Hours each , with every paper carrying 100 marks (Total of 400 marks), based on the syllabus given below.

Cut off mark for general candidates in the main written examination is 40% for each paper with an overall minimum of 45% of the total marks in the written examination. For candidates belonging to SC/ST category the cut off mark shall be 35% and 40% respectively.

Syllabus for the 2024 and 2025 Munsiff Magistrate Kerala Exam – Written Examination (Main)

Paper–I

English Grammar, General Essays, Translation of Malayalam Depositions /Documents to English, Precis writing.

Paper–II

Part–A: Indian Contract Act, Transfer of Property Act, Limitation Act, Specific Relief Act, Easements Act, Kerala Building (Lease and Rent Control) Act, Hindu Succession Act, Indian Succession Act -Parts V, VI & X, Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act.

Part–B: Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, Kerala Stamp Act, Legal Services Authorities Act, The Kerala Panchayath Raj Act -Ch.X, XI, XXIA & XXIII, Kerala Municipality Act -Ch.IX, X, XXIV & XXV, Negotiable Instruments Act (except Ch. XVII), and Registration Act.

Paper–III

Part–A: Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act, Abkari Act, Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, Negotiable Instruments Act -Ch. XVII, The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.

Part–B: Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, Kerala Police Act, Probation of Offenders Act, Forest Act, N.D.P.S. Act (provisions relating to bail and trial by Magistrates)

Paper–IV

Part-A: Code of Civil Procedure, Civil Rules of Practice, Kerala Civil Courts Act, Order in Interlocutory Application/ Framing of issues / Judgement writing (Civil).

Part-B: Code of Criminal Procedure, Criminal Rules of Practice, Framing of charges/Order in Criminal Miscellaneous Petitions/ Judgment writing (Criminal)

Viva-voce (50 marks) i.e. Interview 

Candidates who score the prescribed percentage of marks or more in the main written examination shall be called for viva voce. The cut off marks in the viva voce is generally fixed at 40% for general candidates and 35% for candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste and Schedules Tribes. 

The marks secured by a candidate in the viva-voce shall be added to the total marks secured by him at the written examination (Main) for the final selection merit list.

Pre-examination training to Scheduled Caste / Scheduled Tribe candidates

A free pre-examination training may be conducted by the Kerala Judicial Academy at Ernakulam for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes, who qualify in the Preliminary Examination. (Subject to availability of resources and suitable number of candidates.)

Refer to the current year’s advertisement for the latest details, terms and conditions.