If you live in UP and you're chasing a stable clerical government job, the Allahabad High Court Group C exam is one you should know about. It's not as famous as UPPSC or UPSSSC exams, but it fills over a thousand posts in one go when the notification comes, and it pays a respectable salary with real job security.
This post covers everything about the Junior Assistant and Clerk posts under Allahabad High Court Group C — the last cycle's numbers, what the job involves, the exam pattern, syllabus, and how to actually prepare for it without wasting months on the wrong material.
Latest Notification and Important Dates
As of August 2026, the High Court has not released a fresh Group C (Junior Assistant/Clerk) notification. The court did release a Regional Office/Assistant Regional Officer (RO/ARO) notification for around 543 posts earlier in 2026, and a Private Secretary Grade-I notification for 195 posts, but that is a separate recruitment from Junior Assistant/Clerk. If you're specifically waiting for Junior Assistant, that cycle usually comes once every one or two years, and the court's own site is the only place to trust for the real date.
Below are the dates from the last completed Group C cycle (2024-25). Use them to understand the pattern of how this exam runs. A fresh cycle can start anytime — the age cut-off and vacancy count will change when it does.
| Event | Last Cycle (2024-25) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Notification released | October 2024 | Completed |
| Application window | October 4 – October 24, 2024 | Completed |
| Correction window | October 26–27, 2024 | Completed |
| Stage I written exam | January 4–5, 2025 | Completed |
| Stage II (Typing/Steno/Driving test) | March 5–23, 2025 | Completed |
| Final merit list | April 16, 2025 | Completed |
| Next Group C cycle | Not announced | Tentative |
Keep checking pareeksha.in exam news for the moment a fresh notification drops, so you don't lose the first few days of your prep window.
What the Job Actually Is
A Junior Assistant at Allahabad High Court works inside the court's administrative machinery — not a courtroom drama job, but real paperwork that keeps the justice system running. You'll handle case files, maintain records, do data entry, draft routine correspondence, and coordinate between different court sections. If you're posted in a registry section, you might deal with filing of petitions and tracking case status. If you're in an establishment section, it's more about staff records and internal admin.
The Clerk-type posts (grouped here with Junior Assistant) are largely desk-based, computer-heavy roles. You need decent typing speed and basic Hindi-Urdu reading familiarity because a lot of old court records still carry Urdu terms. It's a 9-to-5 kind of government job — steady hours, pension-linked benefits under the new pension scheme, and postings mostly within Uttar Pradesh's High Court establishment (Allahabad and the Lucknow bench).
Stenographer posts (also under this same Group C umbrella) are a different animal — you take dictation and produce typed transcripts for judges' orders, and the entry bar for shorthand speed is high.
Vacancy Details / Post Breakdown
In the last completed cycle, the total Group C and D vacancy count stood at 1,667 (Group C alone), broken up like this:
| Post | Vacancies (2024-25 cycle) |
|---|---|
| Junior Assistant | 932 |
| Stenographer Grade-III (English) | 517 |
| Stenographer Grade-III (Hindi) | 66 |
| Paid Apprentice | 122 |
| Driver | 30 |
| Total | 1,667 |
Junior Assistant is by far the biggest chunk, which is good news if that's your target post. When the next notification comes, expect the numbers to shift based on how many posts have fallen vacant since 2025, but Junior Assistant will likely stay the largest category again.
Eligibility
Age Limit
- Minimum age: 18 years
- Maximum age: 40 years
- Reckoned as on a cut-off date fixed in the notification (usually July 1 of the notification year)
Age Relaxation
| Category | Relaxation |
|---|---|
| SC/ST/OBC (UP domicile) | 5 years |
| Ex-servicemen | Actual service period + 3 years |
| Persons with Disability | 15 years |
| Skilled sportspersons | 5 years |
| Dependents of freedom fighters | 5 years |
Educational Qualification
- Junior Assistant / Paid Apprentice: Intermediate (12th pass) with working knowledge of Hindi and Urdu, plus a CCC (Course on Computer Concepts) certificate and typing speed of 25-30 words per minute on computer.
- Stenographer Grade-III (English): Graduate, shorthand 100 wpm, typing 40 wpm in English, CCC certificate.
- Stenographer Grade-III (Hindi): Graduate, shorthand 80 wpm, typing 30 wpm in Hindi, CCC certificate.
- Driver: High School pass, valid LMV/heavy vehicle license with at least 3 years' driving experience, knowledge of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Domicile
Candidates must be domiciled in Uttar Pradesh to claim reservation benefits. Anyone can apply, but reserved-category relaxations apply only to UP domicile holders.
Application Process and Fee
The application happens entirely online through the High Court's official recruitment portal, allahabadhighcourt.in. Here's how it usually goes:
- Register with basic details — name, email, mobile number.
- Fill the online form — personal details, category, qualification, post preference.
- Upload scanned photo, signature, and required certificates.
- Pay the fee through debit card, credit card, or net banking (no cash/challan mode).
- Submit and download the confirmation page for your records.
- Use the correction window (usually 2-3 days after form closes) to fix any typos — spelling of name, category, photo issues.
Fee Structure (based on last cycle, subject to revision)
| Post Category | General/OBC | EWS | SC/ST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Assistant / Paid Apprentice / Driver | ₹850 | ₹750 | ₹650 |
| Stenographer | ₹950 | ₹850 | ₹750 |
Fee is non-refundable once submitted, so double-check your category and post choice before paying.
Exam Pattern
Stage I — Written Examination
| Subject | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| General Hindi | 25 | 25 |
| General English | 25 | 25 |
| General Studies | 25 | 25 |
| Mathematics/Reasoning | 25 | 25 |
| Total | 100 | 100 |
- Duration: 90 minutes
- Mode: Offline, OMR-based, objective type
- No negative marking — this is a big relief compared to SSC exams, so attempt every question
Stage II — Skill Test
| Post | Test |
|---|---|
| Junior Assistant / Paid Apprentice | Computer typing test, Hindi/English, 25-30 wpm qualifying |
| Stenographer | Shorthand dictation + transcription on computer |
| Driver | Practical driving test |
Stage II is qualifying in nature for most posts, but your Stage I score plus typing/steno performance together decide the final merit for Junior Assistant, so don't treat the skill test lightly.
Detailed Syllabus
General Hindi (25 marks)
Sandhi, Samas, वाच्य (voice), काल (tense), लिंग-वचन (gender-number), मुहावरे और लोकोक्तियाँ (idioms and proverbs), पर्यायवाची व विलोम शब्द (synonyms-antonyms), शुद्ध वर्तनी (correct spelling), अपठित गद्यांश (comprehension passages), रस-अलंकार basics.
General English (25 marks)
Tenses, articles, prepositions, active-passive voice, direct-indirect narration, synonyms and antonyms, one-word substitution, spotting errors, sentence correction, fill in the blanks, reading comprehension.
General Studies (25 marks)
Indian history (ancient, medieval, modern — with focus on freedom movement), Indian polity (Constitution basics, fundamental rights, Parliament, judiciary structure), geography of India and UP specifically, Indian economy basics, general science (physics/chemistry/biology at school level), computer awareness (basic hardware/software, MS Office), current affairs of the past 6-12 months, and UP-specific GK (districts, schemes, culture).
Mathematics/Reasoning (25 marks)
Number system, percentage, profit and loss, ratio and proportion, average, simple and compound interest, time and work, time speed distance, mensuration, data interpretation from tables and graphs, along with basic reasoning — series, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, and analogy.
This mix is very close to what SSC CHSL or UP Police clerk-type exams test, so if you've prepared for SSC CHSL or similar exams before, a lot of your groundwork carries over here. For structured subject practice, use Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning, and General Awareness guides to cover the full syllabus systematically.
Salary, Pay Scale, and Career Growth
Junior Assistant and Clerk posts fall under the pay matrix corresponding to the old pay scale of ₹5,200-₹20,200 with grade pay ₹1,900-₹2,000 (revised pay level as per the 7th Pay Commission structure applicable in UP). In hand, a fresher Junior Assistant typically takes home somewhere around ₹25,000 to ₹32,000 a month depending on posting location and applicable allowances (DA, HRA, transport allowance).
On top of basic pay, you get:
- Dearness Allowance (revised periodically)
- House Rent Allowance (if no government quarter)
- Medical benefits under the state employee scheme
- New Pension Scheme contribution
- Standard government leave benefits
Career growth in court establishments is steady but slow — promotions to Senior Assistant, Head Clerk, and further up the administrative ladder happen through seniority-cum-merit over years of service, along with departmental exams in some cases. It's not a fast-track role, but it's dependable, and lateral movement into other UP government departments through internal exams is also common for court staff.
Previous Year Cut-off
Here's the Stage I cut-off from the 2024 cycle (Group C Clerical Cadre, out of 100 marks):
| Category | Stage I Cut-off |
|---|---|
| Unreserved | 87 |
| UR Ex-servicemen | 83 |
| OBC | 84 |
| EWS | 82 |
| SC | 79 |
| ST | 73 |
And the final Stage II cut-off (combined score, out of a higher total once typing/steno marks were added):
| Category | Final Cut-off |
|---|---|
| Unreserved | 137.1 |
| UR Ex-servicemen | 133.6 |
| OBC | 134.3 |
| EWS | 130.9 |
| SC | 119.1 |
| ST | 118.4 |
These numbers tell you something important: Stage I cut-offs are high (close to 85+ out of 100 for general category), which means this paper is not "easy" the way some clerk exams are. Competition is genuinely tough because lakhs of candidates across UP apply for a government job that doesn't demand a specialized degree.
Best Books and Preparation Strategy
You don't need ten books. You need the right four or five, used properly.
- General Hindi: Lucent's Samanya Hindi, plus NCERT Hindi grammar for basics.
- General English: Wren & Martin for grammar rules, SP Bakshi's Objective English for practice.
- General Studies: Lucent's General Knowledge, plus a dedicated UP GK booklet (districts, schemes, UP-specific history).
- Mathematics/Reasoning: RS Aggarwal for Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning — standard for this level.
- Current Affairs: A monthly digest, not a yearly one. Use current affairs updates so you're not cramming a year's news in the last week.
A rough 3-month plan (once the notification is out)
Month 1: Build basics. NCERT-level history/polity/geography, Hindi and English grammar rules, arithmetic fundamentals. Take one topic-wise test daily from practice sets.
Month 2: Shift to full-length mock tests twice a week from the online test series. Track your weak subject and give it extra time. Start typing practice daily if you're going for Junior Assistant — 15-20 minutes a day builds speed faster than you'd expect.
Month 3: Full mocks every alternate day, timed strictly at 90 minutes. Revise formula sheets and GK notes rather than reading new material. In the last 10 days, focus only on revision and typing speed, not new topics.
Follow a broader study plan to pace this across whatever runway you actually have before the exam.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
A lot of candidates lose marks not because they don't know the material, but because of avoidable errors. Don't ignore General Hindi just because you're a native speaker — the grammar rules asked (Sandhi, Samas, alankar) trip up people who've never formally studied them since school. Don't skip typing practice until the last month — 25-30 wpm sounds easy until you're doing it under exam pressure with unfamiliar passages. Don't over-focus on national current affairs and ignore UP-specific GK, because this paper leans state-heavy on that front. And don't wait for the "perfect" notification date to start studying — the syllabus doesn't change much between cycles, so you can start now with the last cycle's pattern as your guide.
FAQ
Q1. Is there a new Allahabad High Court Group C notification in 2026? Not for Junior Assistant/Clerk as of August 2026. A separate RO/ARO notification came out earlier in the year, but that's a different post. Keep checking the official site for Junior Assistant updates.
Q2. What is the minimum qualification for Junior Assistant? Intermediate (12th pass) with a CCC computer certificate and typing speed of 25-30 wpm.
Q3. Is there negative marking in the Stage I exam? No. You lose nothing for a wrong answer, so attempt every question.
Q4. What is the exam duration and total marks? 100 questions, 100 marks, 90 minutes, offline OMR mode.
Q5. Do I need to know Urdu for Junior Assistant? The notification typically asks for "working knowledge" of Hindi and Urdu since court records historically include Urdu terms, but it's not a heavy Urdu-language test in the exam itself.
Q6. What is the application fee for General category Junior Assistant? ₹850 in the last cycle. It may be revised in the next notification.
Q7. Can candidates from outside UP apply? Yes, but reservation benefits (SC/ST/OBC/EWS relaxation) apply only to UP domicile holders.
Q8. Is the Stage II typing test qualifying only? For Junior Assistant, Stage II marks are added to the final merit, so it's not purely qualifying — perform well here too.
Q9. What is the pay scale for Junior Assistant? ₹5,200-₹20,200 pay band with grade pay around ₹1,900-2,000, translating to an in-hand salary roughly ₹25,000-32,000 depending on location and allowances.
Q10. How tough is the competition? Genuinely tough. Cut-offs in the last cycle were 80+ out of 100 for most categories at Stage I, so treat this as a serious competitive exam, not a formality.
Related reads on Pareeksha
- UP Lekhpal recruitment guide
- UP Police Constable recruitment guide
- SSC CHSL exam guide
- RRB NTPC exam guide
Final Word
The Allahabad High Court Group C exam is one of the better clerical government jobs available to UP candidates — steady pay, court-linked prestige, and a manageable syllabus if you put in consistent work. The catch is that thousands of candidates think the same thing, so cut-offs stay high. Don't wait around for the exact notification date to begin. Start with the last cycle's syllabus and pattern today, build your Hindi and English grammar fundamentals, get your typing speed up, and treat every practice test seriously. When the real notification lands, you'll already be ahead of most people who are just starting from zero. Check pareeksha.in exam guides regularly and you won't miss the window when it opens.
Official sources: Allahabad High Court, UPPSC, NTA Allahabad HC Recruitment Portal
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