The wait is over.
The Delhi High Court has officially scheduled Stage-II: Mains (Descriptive) Examination for Junior Judicial Assistant/Restorer (Open) Examination 2026 on Sunday, 4 October 2026. The examination will be conducted in Delhi-NCR. Reporting time, examination time, centre and detailed instructions will be mentioned on the admit card.
For candidates who have cleared Stage-I, the next 25 days should not be spent collecting more material.
The priority now should be:
Write → Practise → Correct → Revise → Simulate the Exam
The Delhi High Court JJA Mains is a 100-mark English descriptive paper, and importantly, its marks contribute directly to the final merit list.
So this is no longer the stage to study passively.
It is time to perform.
Delhi High Court JJA Mains 2026 Exam Date
Particular | Details |
Examination | JJA/Restorer Stage-II Mains |
Exam Date | 4 October 2026 |
Day | Sunday |
Exam City | Delhi-NCR |
Nature | Descriptive – English |
Total Marks | 100 |
Duration | 120 Minutes |
Delhi High Court published the revised schedule on 8 September 2026.
According to the official 2026 recruitment notice, the descriptive examination consists of two parts:
Section | Component | Marks |
Part A | Essay – about 250 words | 40 |
Letter Writing | 10 | |
Part B | Grammar | 30 |
Translation – 25 words | 20 | |
Total | 100 |
Total Time: 120 minutes
The minimum passing marks are:
- General Category: 50/100
- Reserved Categories including PwBD: 45/100
Candidates up to six times the number of vacancies in each category are to be called for Stage-III, the English Typing Test.
But there is something even more important.
Stage-II is not merely qualifying.
The final merit list is prepared by adding the marks obtained in the Mains Descriptive Examination and Interview. Stage-I Preliminary Examination and Stage-III Typing Test are qualifying in nature.
That makes these 100 marks extremely important.
What Do Delhi High Court JJA PYQs Tell Us?
Before preparing blindly, understand what Delhi High Court has actually asked.
The official 2020 JJA/Restorer Stage-II paper followed the same broad 100-mark structure of:
Essay + Letter + Grammar + Translation.
The essay choices included a contemporary issue connected with the COVID-19 period and a topic on the independence of the Indian judiciary.
The letter-writing question required candidates to write formally about themselves and their probable contribution if selected.
Grammar tested practical areas such as:
- Error correction
- Active and passive voice
- Sentence transformation
- Correct usage
- Verb forms
- Antonyms
Translation required work in both directions — Hindi to English and English to Hindi.
What does this tell us?
Delhi High Court is not looking for ornamental English.
It is testing whether you can:
Think clearly.
Write concisely.
Use correct grammar.
Communicate formally.
Translate accurately.
That should determine your preparation.
How to Prepare Essay Writing — 40 Marks
The essay alone carries 40% of the entire Mains paper.
Do not treat it casually.
With a word limit of around 250 words, the biggest challenge is not writing more.
It is writing relevant content within limited space.
A simple structure can be:
Introduction — 40–50 words
Define or contextualise the issue.
Main Body — 150–160 words
Cover 3–4 strong dimensions with examples.
Balanced View/Way Forward — 30–40 words
Give a practical perspective.
Conclusion — 20–30 words
Close with a forward-looking idea.
Your essay should be:
Relevant + Structured + Balanced + Error-free
Not filled with unnecessarily difficult vocabulary.
What topics should you prepare?
Focus especially on current and evergreen themes connected with:
- Judiciary and judicial reforms
- Artificial Intelligence and technology
- Cybercrime and digital fraud
- Women empowerment
- Social media
- Environment
- Education
- Employment
- Urbanisation
- Data privacy
- Ethics
- Democracy
- Youth
- Public institutions
- Current social issues
Instead of memorising 50 complete essays, build content around 15–20 broad themes that can be adapted.
Letter Writing — Small Section, Easy Marks
Letter writing carries only 10 marks, but these can become very valuable marks.
The examiner is likely looking for:
- Correct format
- Appropriate salutation
- Clear subject
- Concise paragraphs
- Formal tone
- Logical sequencing
- Proper closing
Do not turn a letter into an essay.
Practise at least one formal letter every alternate day during the first two weeks.
Possible areas include:
- Complaint
- Request
- Representation
- Administrative communication
- Application
- Public grievance
- Workplace-related issue
The 2020 paper itself shows that the Court can frame the letter around professional suitability and contribution, so preparation should not be restricted to traditional complaint letters alone.
Grammar — 30 Marks You Cannot Ignore
Many students focus almost entirely on essay writing because it carries 40 marks.
That can be a mistake.
Grammar carries 30 marks.
Unlike essays, grammar questions can often have relatively objective answers.
The official 2020 PYQ suggests special attention to:
- Subject-verb agreement
- Prepositions
- Articles
- Sentence correction
- Active-passive voice
- Assertive/interrogative transformation
- Degrees
- Verb forms
- Vocabulary
- Antonyms
- Common usage errors
The strategy should be:
Rule → 10 Questions → Error Analysis → Repeat
Do not spend hours reading grammar theory without solving questions.
Translation — Practise Every Day
Translation carries 20 marks, and the current notification specifies a translation component of about 25 words.
Your focus should be accuracy rather than literal translation.
For Hindi-to-English translation:
Do not translate every word individually.
First understand the complete meaning, then express it in natural English.
For English-to-Hindi:
Preserve the original meaning and tone without unnecessarily Sanskritising simple language.
Daily target:
1 Hindi → English passage
1 English → Hindi passage
Even 15–20 minutes of daily translation practice can make a substantial difference by exam day.
The 25-Day Delhi High Court JJA Mains Strategy
From 9 September to 3 October, you effectively have a 25-day preparation window before the examination.
I would divide it into three phases.
Phase 1: Days 1–7 — Build the Format 9–15 September
Your objective is to remove conceptual weaknesses.
Every day:
- 1 essay outline
- 1 grammar topic
- Translation practice
- Letter writing on alternate days
- 30 minutes of current-topic content building
By the end of Day 7, you should know how to attempt every section.
Do not worry excessively about speed yet.
First build correctness.
Phase 2: Days 8–15 — Write Under Time 16–23 September
Now preparation must shift from learning to execution.
During these eight days:
- Write 4–5 complete essays
- Write 4 formal letters
- Practise grammar daily
- Translate both ways daily
- Attempt at least 2 sectional/full descriptive papers
Start using a stopwatch.
After every answer, check:
Was I within the word limit?
Did I complete it on time?
Was the structure visible?
How many grammatical errors did I make?
Was my translation natural?
This is where improvement should become measurable.
The final ten days should be completely different.
At HeMantra, our 10-Day Challenge philosophy is built around one principle:
The actual examination should not be your first experience of examination pressure.
For these ten days, stop behaving like a student collecting material.
Start behaving like a candidate sitting for Stage-II.
Day 1 — Full Paper + Analysis
Attempt a 120-minute descriptive paper.
Analyse every mistake.
Day 2 — Weak Area Correction
If grammar was weak, repair grammar.
If essay structure failed, rewrite the essay.
If translation was poor, practise translation.
Day 3 — Full Paper
Attempt another complete paper.
Day 4 — Essay + Letter Intensive
Write two essays and two letters under strict time limits.
Day 5 — Grammar + Translation Intensive
Practise a complete 50-mark Part-B simulation.
Day 6 — Full Paper
Again, 120 minutes. No interruption.
Day 7 — PYQ-Based Revision
Return to previous Delhi High Court questions and recurring grammar patterns.
Day 8 — Full Paper
Treat it exactly like the real examination.
Day 9 — Final Error Correction
No major new material.
Review:
- Essay frameworks
- Letter formats
- Grammar-error notebook
- Translation mistakes
Day 10 — Light Simulation & Revision
Do not exhaust yourself.
Revise your frameworks, formats and recurring mistakes.
Prepare mentally for examination day.
The cycle throughout the challenge should remain:
Attempt → Analyse → Correct → Rewrite → Attempt Again
That is how examination temperament develops.
Suggested 120-Minute Time Management
Do not decide your time allocation for the first time on 4 October.
Test a strategy beforehand.
A practical starting framework could be:
Component | Suggested Time |
Essay | 35–40 minutes |
Letter | 10–12 minutes |
Grammar | 30–35 minutes |
Translation | 20–25 minutes |
Final Review | 8–10 minutes |
This is only a starting framework.
Adjust it according to your own performance during mock tests.
The goal is simple:
Never allow one 40-mark essay to consume the time needed for the remaining 60 marks.
Five Mistakes to Avoid in the Final 25 Days
1. Collecting new material every day
At this stage, practice is more valuable than accumulation.
2. Only reading essays
Reading cannot substitute for writing.
3. Ignoring grammar
Thirty marks are too important to sacrifice.
4. Practising translation only in one direction
Previous Delhi High Court papers have tested both Hindi-to-English and English-to-Hindi translation.
5. Giving mocks without analysing them
A mock test that does not change your next day’s preparation has limited value.
What Should Your Target Be?
Do not prepare merely to cross the 50-mark General-category qualifying threshold or the 45-mark reserved-category threshold.
Remember:
Mains marks contribute to final merit.
Your goal should therefore be to maximise every section.
A 5-mark improvement in grammar.
Another 5 marks in essay.
Three extra marks in letter writing.
Better translation accuracy.
Small improvements across sections can significantly change your final Stage-II score.
Final 25-Day Formula
If the Delhi High Court JJA Mains is on your calendar for 4 October 2026, your preparation from today should become extremely simple:
Essay — Write regularly
Letter — Master the format
Grammar — Practise daily
Translation — Practise both ways
PYQs — Understand the pattern
Mocks — Attempt under 120 minutes
Final 10 Days — Enter Challenge Mode
There is still enough time to improve significantly.
But only if the next 25 days are used for active preparation rather than passive reading.
You have already cleared Stage-I.
Now Stage-II demands a different skill:
Your ability to express what you know accurately, clearly and within time.
Use the next fifteen days to build the skill.
Use the final ten days to test it.
And reach 4 October having already faced the paper multiple times in practice.
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