The Supreme Court of India has opened online applications for 20 tentative vacancies of Court Master (Shorthand), a gazetted post in the court’s Registry, and the window runs from 25 October to 15 November 2026. The advertisement, numbered F.6/11/CM(S)/2026-SC (RC), was issued on 15 October by Deputy Registrar (Recruitment) Mahabir Singh.
This is a direct recruitment exercise to build a panel, not a one for one hiring against sanctioned strength. The Registry can change the number of posts on administrative grounds and can modify the selection process without notice. The post sits in Level 11 of the pay matrix.
Read more on newzshort:
UPPSC RO, ARO Recruitment 2026: 501 Posts Open
What The Post Pays
Court Master (Shorthand) carries a pay band of Rs 67,700 to Rs 2,08,700 in Level 11, with an initial basic pay of Rs 67,700 plus allowances admissible under the rules. Candidates who clear all four stages are empanelled in order of merit, and the advertisement states plainly that a place in the panel creates no right to appointment.
The court is also filling the same designation through a second route. A separate advertisement dated 12 October invited applications for the post on deputation, which lets serving officers come in without sitting the four stage test. The two channels running together matters because the direct route is slower, and its panel can outlive the vacancies it was built for.
Read more on newzshort:
Railway Board Lines Up 30,000 Group D Posts, Notice Around Diwali
The Five Year Filter Most Applicants Miss
The eligibility rules are far stricter than the graduate level framing suggests. A candidate needs a bachelor’s degree, English shorthand at 120 words per minute and typing at 40 words per minute on a computer. Beyond that, the advertisement demands five years of regular service as Private Secretary, Senior Personal Assistant, Personal Assistant or Senior Stenographer in government, public sector undertakings or statutory bodies.
The age band is 30 to 45 years as on 1 October 2026. Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (non creamy layer) and ex servicemen get the usual relaxation, dependants of freedom fighters up to five extra years, and Registry departmental candidates have no upper limit. Applicants from other departments or nationalised banks get none.
Four Tests And 250 Marks
Stage one is a 100 question objective paper of 100 marks in 90 minutes, with 50 to qualify and no negative marking. Twenty five questions cover general English, 25 general knowledge, 25 constitutional provisions on the judiciary, 15 the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, and 10 computer knowledge.
Stage two is the shorthand test, seven minutes of dictation at 120 words per minute transcribed over 45 minutes, worth 100 marks with 5 per cent mistakes allowed and 50 to qualify. An error free transcript scores 100 per cent, up to 1 per cent errors 90. Computer typing is 20 marks over 10 minutes with 10 to qualify, and the interview carries 30 marks with 15 to qualify.
Ten candidates per vacancy are shortlisted for the shorthand and typing stage, and three per vacancy reach the interview. The objective test is tentatively set for 7 December 2026, answer keys follow on 8 December, and objections can be filed on 8 and 9 December at Rs 100 each, refunded if valid.
Fee, Centres And The Fine Print
General and unreserved candidates pay Rs 1,500, while Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (non creamy layer) and ex servicemen pay Rs 750 through the UCO Bank gateway. The objective test will run in the 69 cities listed in Annexure A, but the shorthand and typing tests are confined to Delhi and the National Capital Region. Serving government employees must produce a no objection certificate at document verification.
Why The Court Is Back At This Post So Soon
The previous cycle held its objective test on 12 November 2025 and published its qualified list in March 2026, so the court is back at the same exercise within eight months. That says less about attrition than about how few people qualify in the first place.
Forty of the hundred objective questions sit on constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, which hands a clear advantage to candidates already working in court registries, and the 120 words per minute shorthand bar removes most of the rest. A 20 post panel may be contested by a far smaller field than the number suggests.
What To Watch
Applications close at 11.55 pm on 15 November 2026, and the form is routed through the recruitment section of the Supreme Court of India website. Admit cards are not posted; candidates download them, and updates go out by SMS and email. Only the last application submitted counts, and no request to change category or test city is entertained.
