Reproduced and analysed by Akinchan Aggarwal, Advocate — B.A. (Hons.) Gold Medalist, LL.B. (University Rank 2), LL.M. (Dispute Resolution), UGC-NET, Ph.D. (Pursuing)
The Subject Knowledge Test for the post of Assistant District Attorney, conducted by the Haryana Public Service Commission, was held on 9 August 2026. This is the descriptive stage that follows the Screening Test of 5 July 2026, and it is the stage that decides the examination — it carries the overwhelming share of the weightage in the final recommendation list.
Set out below is the complete question paper, retyped in full from the candidate copy. All fifteen questions are reproduced in order, with sub-parts and marks exactly as printed.
A note on this reproduction.
The paper is bilingual in the original — every question appears first in English and then in Hindi. Only the English text is reproduced here, for readability. The substance is identical.
The candidate copy available to me begins at page 2 of the booklet. The cover page, which carries the printed instructions, is therefore not reproduced. The paper code appearing at the foot of every page is DR7 2026.
Paper at a Glance
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Examination | Assistant District Attorney (ADA), Prosecution Department, Haryana |
| Conducting Body | Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) |
| Stage | Subject Knowledge Test (descriptive) |
| Date of Examination | 9 August 2026 |
| Paper Code | DR7 2026 |
| Total Questions | 15 (several with sub-parts) |
| Total Marks | 150 |
| Medium | Bilingual — English and Hindi |
The Question Paper
Q1. Explain the provisions of Indian Contract Act, 1872 relating to performance of reciprocal promises. What will be consequences if there is failure to perform contract on time under Section 55 of Indian Contract Act, 1872? Substantiate your answer with help of case laws.
10 Marks
Q2. Distinguish between provisions of Sections 73 and 74 of Indian Contract Act, 1872. What are the principles laid down by the Court for determination of market price and contract price? What are fundamental principles for measure of damages under Indian Contract Act, 1872? Discuss with help of case laws.
10 Marks
Q3. Distinguish between condition and warranty under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930. Explain the statutory provisions relating to implied conditions and warranties. What are different modes by which parties to sale may exclude liability for implied terms under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930? Substantiate your answer with help of case laws.
10 Marks
Q4. Explain the scope of implied authority of partner under Indian Partnership Act, 1932. What will be effects of ratification of a partner's act, admission made by partner and effect of notice to an acting partner? What would be liability of the firm for misapplication of money or property by a partner? Substantiate your answer with help of case laws.
10 Marks
Q5. Explain the nature, scope and limits of right to private defense of property under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. What are the principles laid down by the Supreme Court for right of self-defense in relation to settled possession of land in Puran Singh and others v. State of Punjab AIR 1975 SC 1674? What are the provisions for applicability of doctrine of retreat for right to self-defense of property?
10 Marks
Q6. (a) P struck R on the head a single blow with a piece of firewood. R fell down bleeding from nose and became senseless. P and his wife W thought that R was dead and so they place R on the wooden pyre and set fire to it which caused R's death. Decide the liability of P and W, if any, while explaining the development of law in such cases under the statutory provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
5 Marks
Q6. (b) P suspecting his wife of infidelity and seeing her leaves his house at night, takes a hatchet and follows her. He finds her having connection with R. P kills his wife. Decide the liability of P using the statutory provisions and case laws.
5 Marks
Q7. (a) Explain the essential ingredients for the offence of robbery under statutory provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 with help of case laws.
5 Marks
Q7. (b) Explain the essential ingredients for the offence of forgery and making a false documents with the help of statutory provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and case laws.
5 Marks
Q8. Critically examine the powers of police to arrest a person with or without warrant with the help of statutory provisions of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in this regard.
10 Marks
Q9. Explain the powers of police and procedures of criminal investigation in respect of cognizable and non-cognizable offences with help of statutory provisions of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and judicial guidelines. What will be evidentiary value of the statements made to the police during investigation?
10 Marks
Q10. Elucidate the forms and contents of charges under the provisions of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. What is the power of the Court to alter charges and procedure to be followed after such alteration? What are the basic rules regarding charges and its trial and exception to basic rules under Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023?
10 Marks
Q11. Elucidate the rationale, mode of conduct, admissibility and reliability of Test Identification Parades (TIP) with the help of statutory provisions of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 and the principles laid down by the Courts in this regard.
10 Marks
Q12. Distinguish between conspirator and accomplice. Under Section 8 of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 what facts are considered relevant in proof of conspiracy? Can confessions, statements recorded under Sections 180, 181 and 183 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 be used for showing “reasonable ground” under Section 8 of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023? Substantiate your answer with help of judicial guidelines.
10 Marks
Q13. (a) Distinguish between Mis-joinder of Parties and Mis-joinder of cause of action with help of relevant provisions of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and case laws.
5 Marks
Q13. (b) Distinguish between return of plaint and rejection of plaint with help of relevant provisions of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Elucidate the guidelines laid down by the Courts relating to amendment of pleadings and cases where the Court can refuse the amendment with help of case laws.
5 Marks
Q14. Distinguish between the summary procedures and ordinary procedure under Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Explain the procedure and principle to be followed for the appearance of defendant and granting leave to the defendant, under summary procedure with help of case laws.
10 Marks
Q15. (a) Explain the scheme and rule of succession to the property of a male Hindu who dies intestate under Hindu Succession Act, 1956 with the help of statutory provisions and case law.
5 Marks
Q15. (b) Explain the general rules of succession to property of a female Hindu who dies intestate under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 with help of statutory provisions and case laws.
5 Marks
Analysis of the Paper
What follows is my own reading of the paper. It is offered as guidance for candidates preparing for the next cycle, and for anyone assessing how the Commission has responded to the change in the criminal codes.
1. Marks distribution by statute
The 150 marks break up as follows:
| Statute | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 | Q5, Q6(a), Q6(b), Q7(a), Q7(b) | 30 |
| Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 | Q8, Q9, Q10 | 30 |
| Indian Contract Act, 1872 | Q1, Q2 | 20 |
| Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 | Q11, Q12 | 20 |
| Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 | Q13(a), Q13(b), Q14 | 20 |
| Sale of Goods Act, 1930 | Q3 | 10 |
| Indian Partnership Act, 1932 | Q4 | 10 |
| Hindu Succession Act, 1956 | Q15(a), Q15(b) | 10 |
| Total | 15 questions | 150 |
2. The new criminal codes carry the majority of the paper
Taken together, the BNS, BNSS and BSA account for 80 of the 150 marks — a clear majority, and slightly over half the paper. Not a single question was framed on the IPC, the CrPC or the Indian Evidence Act by their old names.
This is the single most important signal in the paper. A candidate who prepared the old codes and hoped to transpose section numbers in the hall would have struggled, because the questions are not phrased in a way that permits it. Question 12 is the clearest illustration: it asks specifically about Section 8 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam read with Sections 180, 181 and 183 BNSS. You cannot answer that from memory of Section 10 of the Evidence Act and Sections 161–164 CrPC unless you have actually mapped the provisions.
3. Civil and commercial law is not a soft option
The first four questions — 40 marks, more than a quarter of the paper — are pure civil and commercial law: Contract, Sale of Goods and Partnership. Add the CPC block and the Hindu Succession Act, and the civil side comes to 70 marks.
This deserves emphasis because the post is a prosecution post. Candidates who assumed the Subject Knowledge Test would be predominantly criminal law will have found nearly half the paper outside that expectation. Partnership law in particular — implied authority, ratification, effect of notice to an acting partner, liability of the firm for misapplication — is a topic many candidates leave until last, and it carried a full ten marks on its own.
4. One third of the paper is “distinguish between”
Six questions, worth 50 marks in total, are framed as comparisons:
- Q2 — Sections 73 and 74 of the Contract Act (10)
- Q3 — condition and warranty (10)
- Q12 — conspirator and accomplice (10)
- Q13(a) — misjoinder of parties and misjoinder of cause of action (5)
- Q13(b) — return of plaint and rejection of plaint (5)
- Q14 — summary and ordinary procedure (10)
That is a third of the paper in a single answer format. It is worth practising deliberately, because a comparison question is not answered by writing two descriptions side by side. The marks lie in identifying the points of distinction — the provision, the stage at which each operates, the consequence, and whether the order is appealable — and setting them out so the examiner can see them without hunting.
Two of these are areas covered in detail on this site: the difference between return of plaint under Order VII Rule 10 and rejection of plaint under Order VII Rule 11 is precisely what Q13(b) turns on.
5. Case law is not decorative
Read the paper again and count the instruction. Thirteen of the fifteen questions expressly require the answer to be substantiated with case laws or judicial guidelines. Question 5 goes further and names the authority the candidate is expected to discuss — Puran Singh v. State of Punjab AIR 1975 SC 1674 — which means the Commission expected knowledge of settled possession as a doctrine, not merely of Section 34 onwards.
The practical consequence is that an answer written purely from the bare Act cannot score well, however accurate it is. Candidates should carry into the hall a working set of four or five authorities per major topic, with the proposition each one stands for. The citation matters less than the proposition; an examiner will accept a correctly stated principle attributed to the right case.
6. Only ten marks of problem questions
Questions 6(a) and 6(b) are the only application-based problems in the paper, and together they carry ten marks. Both are classical:
- 6(a) is the single-transaction problem — a blow believed to be fatal, followed by disposal of what the accused thought was a corpse, which in fact caused death. This is the line of authority beginning with Palani Goundan and running through Thabo Meli and the Indian cases that treat the series of acts as one transaction. The question expressly asks for “the development of law in such cases”, which is an invitation to trace that shift rather than simply state a conclusion.
- 6(b) is grave and sudden provocation, and it is deliberately close to the illustration in the exception itself. The examiner is testing whether the candidate can identify that the provocation must be both grave and sudden, and can address the interval between seeing the wife leave and finding her.
The remaining 140 marks are direct descriptive questions. That is unusually generous to a well-prepared candidate: there are no surprises of framing, and the marks go to organisation and coverage rather than to ingenuity.
7. What was not asked
Equally instructive is the absence. There was nothing on Constitutional Law and nothing on the Law of Torts, although both sit within the advertised scope. There was also no question on the Negotiable Instruments Act and none on the special criminal statutes a prosecutor deals with daily.
A candidate preparing for the next cycle should not read this as permission to drop those subjects. One paper is one sample. What it does suggest is where the Commission's centre of gravity currently lies: the three new codes, the core civil statutes, and procedure on both sides.
8. How to prepare from this paper
The most useful exercise is not to read the questions but to answer them under time. Three hours for 150 marks works out to a little over a minute per mark — roughly twelve minutes for a ten-mark question, including the time spent thinking. That is not long. It is enough for a structured answer with a provision, a rule, two authorities and a conclusion; it is not enough for an essay.
Three habits are worth building:
- Open with the provision. Name the section and the Act in the first line. An examiner marking a hundred scripts should not have to read to the third paragraph to find out whether you know where the answer lives.
- Use headings and numbered points. Particularly for the comparison questions, a short table or a numbered list of distinctions will always read better than continuous prose.
- Map the old code to the new. For every provision you know by its IPC, CrPC or Evidence Act number, learn the BNS, BNSS or BSA equivalent and any change in wording. The changes are not always cosmetic, and the questions in this paper were drafted on the new text.
For candidates working through the procedural side, the detailed guides on this site covering the rights of an arrested person under the BNSS and the law on registration of an FIR address the ground covered by Questions 8 and 9 directly.
The objective stage of this same recruitment is also on the site — the Haryana ADA Prelims 2026 question paper with answer key is worth working through alongside this paper to see how the same syllabus is tested in the two formats.
Disclaimer: The question paper reproduced above is the Subject Knowledge Test for the post of Assistant District Attorney conducted by the Haryana Public Service Commission on 9 August 2026, retyped from a candidate copy for the convenience of aspirants. Only the English portion of the bilingual paper has been reproduced. While every care has been taken in transcription, candidates should verify the text against the official question paper published by the Commission. The analysis is the author's own opinion and is provided for study purposes only. This post is not legal advice and does not create any advocate-client relationship. Lawizard is not affiliated with the Haryana Public Service Commission. Please read our Disclaimer for more details.
