Law Jobs by Akinchan Aggarwal, Advocate — B.A. (Hons.) Gold Medalist, LL.B. (University Rank 2), LL.M. (Dispute Resolution), UGC–NET, Ph.D. (Pursuing)
172 posts. Pay Level 10. Applications open 28 August 2026.
The Odisha Public Service Commission has notified 172 posts of Assistant Public Prosecutor in Group-B of the Odisha State Prosecution Service under the Home Department, by Advertisement No. 09 of 2026-27. Online applications run from 28 August to 28 September 2026 (5:00 p.m.), and the Preliminary Examination is on Sunday, 1 November 2026.
This is one of the largest public prosecutor recruitments in the country this year, and it is open to any law graduate with two years at the Bar — no upper qualification, no LL.M. requirement.
Before you rely on the vacancy tables circulating online, there is a correction you should know about.
The Category Table Being Circulated Does Not Add Up
Check the arithmetic before you check your eligibility.
Several widely shared versions of the category break-up list UR 86, EWS 23, SEBC 27, SC 9, ST 36. Add those figures: they come to 181, not 172. The error appears to come from mixing the women's reservation column into the category column and inserting an EWS row. The break-up that actually reconciles to 172 is set out below. If you are an SC candidate, this matters a great deal — the circulating table shows 9 SC posts; the correct figure is 27.
Vacancy Break-Up
| Category | Total posts | Of which, reserved for women |
|---|---|---|
| Unreserved (UR) | 86 | 29 |
| Socially & Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) | 23 | 08 |
| Scheduled Caste (SC) | 27 | 09 |
| Scheduled Tribe (ST) | 36 | 12 |
| Total | 172 | 58 |
Fifty-eight of the 172 posts — 33.7% — are reserved for women. Most summaries of this recruitment omit that column entirely. Horizontal reservation is also provided for Ex-Servicemen, Sports Persons and Persons with Disabilities.
Key Dates
| Event | Date | Days from today |
|---|---|---|
| Online application opens | Friday, 28 August 2026 | 7 days |
| Last date to apply | Monday, 28 September 2026, 5:00 p.m. | 38 days |
| Preliminary Examination | Sunday, 1 November 2026 | 72 days |
The application window is 31 days, and you have 34 days between the closing date and the prelims. Plan the preparation around 72 days, not 34 — there is no reason to wait for the form to close before starting.
Pay Scale
Rs. 44,900 – Rs. 1,42,400, Pay Matrix Level 10 under the ORSP Rules, 2017, plus applicable allowances. This is a regular Group-B State service post, not a contractual engagement — which distinguishes it sharply from most of the legal vacancies advertised in any given month.
Eligibility
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Qualification | Bachelor's Degree in Law (LL.B.) from a recognised university |
| Experience | Minimum 2 years as a practising Advocate, certified by the District & Sessions Judge, with Bar Council enrolment certificate |
| Age | 21 to 42 years as on 1 January 2026 |
| Age relaxation | 5 years — SEBC, SC, ST, Women, Ex-Servicemen; 10 years — PwD |
| Language | Must be able to speak, read and write Odia |
The experience certificate is not a formality.
The two years of practice must be certified by the District & Sessions Judge — not self-declared, and not certified by a senior advocate. That certificate takes time to obtain, and the requirement is stated up front precisely because it is checked. If you intend to apply, start the process of getting it now, in the week before the portal even opens. Candidates lose this post every cycle not on merit but because the certificate did not arrive before the closing date.
The Odia Requirement — and Why It Is Larger Than It Looks
The advertisement requires the ability to speak, read and write Odia, established by passing the Middle School standard language test conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha, or by having passed Matriculation or Class 10 with Odia as a subject.
Odia is not just an eligibility box. It is 150 marks of the Mains.
Paper I of the Main Examination is styled "General English", and a candidate from outside Odisha may reasonably assume it is a language paper they can handle. It is not. Paper I includes translation from English to Odia and from Odia to English, alongside essay, précis and comprehension. So Odia is worth a substantial share of a 150-mark paper out of 600, over and above the threshold eligibility condition. This recruitment is, in practical terms, for candidates rooted in Odisha, and no amount of criminal law preparation compensates for the language gap.
Selection Process
| Stage | Type | Marks | Counts towards merit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary | 100 objective questions, 2 hours | 100 | No — screening only |
| Main Written | 4 descriptive papers, 150 marks each | 600 | Yes |
| Personality Test | Interview / viva voce | 50 | Yes |
| Final merit | Mains + Interview | 650 | — |
The prelims has negative marking and does not count. That combination dictates your strategy.
There is negative marking of 25% — 0.25 marks — for every wrong answer in the Preliminary Examination, and the marks scored there do not enter the final merit list. Two consequences follow. First, wild guessing is expensive here in a way it is not in an examination without negative marking; on a pure four-option guess the expected return is zero, and on a question you have no purchase on at all, leaving it blank is the disciplined choice. Second, there is no value whatsoever in maximising your prelims score. Clearing the cut-off is the entire objective. Every additional hour spent chasing marks in the prelims beyond a safe clearance is an hour taken from the 650 marks that actually decide the result.
Syllabus
Preliminary Examination — Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
Main Examination — four papers of 150 marks each:
- Paper I — General English: translation (English to Odia and Odia to English), essay, précis writing and comprehension.
- Paper II — Criminal Major Laws: CrPC / BNSS, IPC / BNS, Evidence Act / BSA.
- Paper III — Criminal Minor Laws: Arms Act, Dowry Prohibition Act, Drugs & Cosmetics Act, Excise, Explosives, Information Technology Act, POCSO and Juvenile Justice, Motor Vehicles Act and others.
- Paper IV — Miscellaneous Laws: drafting of petitions, pleadings and arguments, Law of Torts, Contract Act, Transfer of Property Act, Limitation Act, Interpretation of Statutes.
Both codes. Not one or the other.
The syllabus lists the old and new criminal codes together — CrPC and BNSS, IPC and BNS, Evidence Act and BSA. This is deliberate and reflects the reality of a prosecutor's desk today: cases registered before 1 July 2024 continue under the old codes while new cases proceed under the new ones, and a prosecutor must work in both. You are expected to know the mapping in both directions, and questions can be framed under either numbering.
Application Fee
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| General / SEBC and other candidates | Rs. 700 |
| SC / ST / PwD | Nil |
The fee is refundable. Reports of this recruitment have generally not mentioned it: the fee is refunded, through the original transaction mode, to candidates who actually appear in the Preliminary Examination. In effect the Rs. 700 is a deposit against non-appearance rather than a charge — which removes the main financial reason to hesitate before applying. Verify this in the official notification before relying on it.
How to Apply
- Step 1. Go to the OPSC portal at opsc.gov.in from 28 August 2026 and open the link for Advertisement No. 09 of 2026-27.
- Step 2. Complete registration to obtain your PPSAN (Permanent Public Service Account Number). If you have applied to OPSC before, you already have one — do not create a second.
- Step 3. Upload your photograph, full signature and Left-Thumb Impression (LTI) in the prescribed format. The LTI catches people out; scan it before you begin.
- Step 4. Upload the LL.B. degree, Bar Council enrolment certificate and the Advocate experience certificate from the District & Sessions Judge.
- Step 5. Pay Rs. 700 online if applicable, submit, and print the auto-generated form for document verification later.
Should You Apply?
Apply if you have an LL.B., two years at the Bar as certified by the District & Sessions Judge, are between 21 and 42 as on 1 January 2026, and have Odia at Middle School or Class 10 level. A regular Group-B State post at Level 10, with 172 vacancies and a fee you get back for turning up, is about as favourable as public prosecution recruitment gets.
This is not for you if you cannot read and write Odia. That is not a soft preference — it is both an eligibility condition and a large part of a 150-mark Mains paper.
Related on Lawizard
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- AIBE 22 Registration 2026 — the Certificate of Practice behind your enrolment
- EdCIL Consultant (Legal) 2026 — Rs. 80,000/Month
- IIPS Mumbai Legal Advisor 2026 — Retainer Lawyer Post
Disclaimer: This post summarises the Odisha Public Service Commission's recruitment for the post of Assistant Public Prosecutor under Advertisement No. 09 of 2026-27 and is provided for general information purposes only. It is not an official publication and has no connection with the Odisha Public Service Commission or the Home Department, Government of Odisha. Important note on sources: the particulars stated above have been compiled on 21 August 2026 from published reports of the notification and cross-checked between independent sources; we were not able to read the official notification PDF directly, and the category break-up given here is the version that reconciles arithmetically to the stated total of 172 posts. Widely circulated tables giving a different break-up do not sum to 172. The fee-refund provision, in particular, should be confirmed against the official notification. All particulars — including vacancy numbers, reservation, eligibility, age limits, dates, exam pattern, syllabus and fees — are liable to change or correction by the Commission. Candidates must read the complete official notification on opsc.gov.in and verify every condition before applying. Nothing here should be relied upon in place of the official notification, and this is not legal or career advice. Please read our Disclaimer for more details.
