Haryana tehsildars sail through Urdu paper; flunk in revenue, civil laws
Departmental exams: Two-thirds of those who appeared failed to secure 50% passing marks
There is a poetic irony to results of departmental exams of tehsildars. If the results are any indicator, the tehsildars, who are custodians of land records and deal with revenue disputes, have found a rhythm in Urdu, but were found wanting in knowledge about revenue and civil laws, as two-thirds of those who appeared failed to secure 50 per cent passing marks.
The exams were held from December 15, 2025, to December 19, 2025, and the results were announced last month.
It is mandatory for tehsildars to pass departmental exams within two years, after which they may appear with special permission.
Of 21 tehsildars appearing for Revenue Law (I and II), which is the basis of their day-to-day working, 14 failed (around 67 per cent). The passing marks were 120 out of 240. Just one candidate passed with a higher standard, indicating a score between 66 per cent and 75 per cent.
In Civil Law, another backbone of a tehsildar’s work, 25 of 35 failed—over 71 per cent. The passing marks were a mere 60 out of 120. Here too, only one tehsildar passed.
Criminal Law (I, II, and III) followed suit, with 60 per cent failing, as 15 tehsildars of the 25 who appeared failed.
The situation was a tad better in Civil Services and Financial Rules, where 11 of 26 failed—over 42 per cent. However, 10 who passed did so with credit, scoring 75 per cent or above.
In Local Funds exams and Patwar, the situation was better. The exam, in Urdu, was of 75 marks, and the passing marks were 25. Here, of 22 candidates, 19 passed.
“There are exams that are open-book papers. In exams where you can’t take the book, it is difficult to remember various law sections. So, the passing percentage falls. There are tehsildars who have reached the position after serving as patwaris or kanungos, and so they are not well-versed in revenue and civil laws. They are more likely to fail. They easily pass Urdu and patwar mensuration exams,” said a tehsildar, who cleared the departmental exams.
“Urdu exam is easy to crack. It is taken in Urdu script, but rudimentary things are asked,” he added.
In the departmental exams conducted in March 2025, only four tehsildars passed in Revenue Law, while eight of the 12 who appeared failed. In Civil Law, eight of 15 failed, implying that over 50 per cent failed the two exams.
The same was the story in Criminal Law, where five of 10 failed. However, in Urdu exam, only three of eight failed.
