She Failed the Preliminary Once and Did Not Give Up: Noor Jahan's Road to Becoming a Judge, Built on the Bare Acts

As a child, watching a judge on television conduct proceedings saying 'Order, order', she would wonder whether she too could one day say those words. She did not then know how one becomes a judge. Gradually that dream became her family's dream too, and for Noor Jahan, a student of the Department of Law and Justice at Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, becoming a judge turned into a commitment.

The road, however, was not easy. The 17th Bangladesh Judicial Service (BJS) examination was her first attempt, and that time she failed at the preliminary stage itself. That failure later changed her entire preparation strategy.

The first time, she read law commentaries more than the bare acts themselves. As a result, she struggled to understand the Code of Civil Procedure and the Code of Criminal Procedure. After the failure, she made the bare acts her main foundation for every subject except the Constitution and family law. The 18th BJS was her second attempt.

Without waiting for the 18th BJS circular, she planned ahead. She set a target of finishing all subjects in the first 25 days of each month, keeping the remaining five days for completing unfinished portions. Having time in hand before the notice arrived kept her ahead.

For the Constitution she read the original Constitution, Abdul Halim's book and 'Shohoj Bhabnay Songbidhan'. When needed, she consulted the books of Jasim Ali Chowdhury and Mahmudul Islam. For Muslim law she followed Fayez Uddin and D. F. Mulla, for Hindu law Azizul Haque, and for the law of inheritance Ikram Sir's book. When something was hard to understand, she took help from law commentaries.

Before the preliminary she sat for examinations on Live MCQ and tests arranged by Civil Judges Raghib Mustafa Naim and Sadikur Rahman Roman. Good marks there raised her confidence. She attended classes nowhere; she only took tests. For general knowledge she gave greater importance to Bangla, English literature and science.

For the written examination, reading Ayesha Siddika Ima's book and 'Written Master' gave Noor a clear idea of the pattern of questions and where questions are set from. She then arranged her preparation accordingly.

She had no habit of making separate notes. Instead, she wrote small points beside the sections in the bare acts, and when she found a relevant case, she noted that beside the related section too. She read the same books as for the preliminary, dropping only the commentaries. While she read the laws lightly for the preliminary, she mastered the important sections thoroughly for the written stage. She studied law all day and general subjects at night.

After sitting the written examination the first time, she was confident she had performed well enough to be recommended. Yet after the written test she could not settle into viva preparation. Even so, she went through the bare acts of all the laws once more.

She had her own technique for the viva as well. She pre-ordered the book 'Viva Booster' and received it a few days before the viva. While reading candidates' experiences, she would imagine herself in their place, as if truly sitting before the board answering questions. Every morning she looked at the photographs of the BJS Commission members on its website, so that the faces would feel familiar before the board; she memorised their names too.

Behind this journey stood her family's dream as well. Fulfilling the hopes of her parents and siblings made becoming a judge her pledge, and the childhood fantasy of saying 'Order, order' gradually came close to reality.

Noor Jahan's experience carries a clear message for new candidates — failure is not the end. Identifying the mistakes in one's preparation and changing strategy, making the core law books the foundation, and testing oneself regularly through examinations were the keys to her success.