CS Professional Drafting Chapter-wise Weightage: 5 Papers Counted

In the CS Professional Drafting, Pleadings and Appearances paper, Part I carries 70 marks and Part II carries 30. I counted every question in the five Syllabus 2022 papers ICSI has set, June 2024 to June 2026. Writing an actual draft carried only 61 of the 350 compulsory marks, and the biggest topic was commercial agreements, at 75.

Most marks in this paper go to knowing what a document must contain and the law behind it. Writing the full draft is a smaller share than the paper's name suggests.

TL;DR

• Part I is 70 marks and Part II is 30. Only Q4 and Q6 have an alternative.
• Full drafts: 61 of 350 compulsory marks, from 0 in June 2026 to 20 in December 2025.
• ICSI asked for 17 documents in five papers and repeated only the general power of attorney.
• Paper 2 is on Wednesday 23 December 2026, 2:00 PM to 5:15 PM.

How is the CS Professional Drafting paper marked?

It is Paper 2 of Group 1: 100 marks, three hours, six questions, built the same way in every paper so far. Part I has Q1, a 25-mark question built on a case study (December 2025 used two), then Q2, Q3 and Q4 at 15 marks each, with Q4A as an alternative to Q4. Part II has Q5 and Q6 at 15 marks each, with Q6A as the alternative.

So Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q5, worth 70 marks, have no choice. My counts below use those 70 marks.

ICSI's December 2026 time table puts it on Wednesday 23 December, 2:00 PM to 5:15 PM, with 15 minutes of reading time. Our CS Professional December 2026 exam dates post has the full timetable.

Part I is always 70 marks and Part II 30, and Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q5 carry no choice.

How did I count the marks?

I took the five Syllabus 2022 papers, subject code 532, from ICSI's previous sessions page. The first was June 2024. ICSI's December 2023 listing has only the old Syllabus 2017 paper, code 433.

Each sub-question got one of three tags. Draft means you write the document itself. Know-how means you state its clauses or points without writing it out. Law covers the rule, the remedy or the case-study answer. Where ICSI printed a split, such as 1 + 4 marks, I used it. Three 5-mark parts mixed theory with a draft and printed no split, and I counted those as drafts.

That gives 350 compulsory marks, each tagged as draft, know-how or law.

How many marks needed an actual draft?

The 70 compulsory marks of each paper by type, plus the extra draft marks in the more drafting-heavy alternatives:

• June 2024: draft 15, know-how 20, law and procedure 35. Alternatives add 0.
• December 2024: draft 10, know-how 0, law and procedure 60. Alternatives add 10.
• June 2025: draft 16, know-how 8, law and procedure 46. Alternatives add 0.
• December 2025: draft 20, know-how 10, law and procedure 40. Alternatives add 5.
• June 2026: draft 0, know-how 20, law and procedure 50. Alternatives add 5.
• All five papers: draft 61, know-how 58, law and procedure 231, out of 350.

Source: ICSI CS Professional (Syllabus 2022) Drafting, Pleadings and Appearances question papers, June 2024 to June 2026, marks counted by Gradehunt.

June 2026 had no compulsory draft at all. It asked for clauses instead: what a share purchase agreement should have contained, what goes into a joint venture agreement, and how to draft a society's bye-laws.

Full drafts were about 17% of the compulsory marks and know-how another 17%. About two thirds went to law and procedure.

Which documents did ICSI ask students to draft?

Seventeen documents in five papers. Thirteen were in compulsory questions.

In compulsory questions

• June 2024: a legal opinion on attachment of bank accounts by the CGST department (5 marks), a reply to a section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act notice (5), a resolution approving a CSR policy (5).
• December 2024: a gift deed, with its definition and features (5), a mediated settlement agreement (5).
• June 2025: a letter of credit (5), a bail bond (2), a performance bank guarantee (5), a general power of attorney (4).
• December 2025: a GPA clause authorising the company secretary to appear before an appellate authority (5), a circular (5), a show cause notice (5), a caveat petition under the Code of Civil Procedure (5).

In the alternatives

• December 2024 Q4: a notice of ejectment under section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act (5), a special leave petition under Article 136 (5).
• December 2025 Q4: a deed of mortgage by deposit of title deeds (5).
• June 2026 Q6A: an affidavit-in-evidence (5).

Only the GPA came twice, so a list of "important drafts" will not take you far. I would learn one skeleton for deeds and agreements: title, date and place, parties, recitals, operative clauses, schedules, and execution with witnesses. Petitions, notices and resolutions need their own. A common gap is a draft that opens straight with clauses and has no parties or recitals.

ICSI asked for 17 different documents and repeated only the GPA, so learn formats by family.

What is the chapter-wise weightage by topic?

The papers do not label chapters, and one case study often crosses two, so I grouped the compulsory marks into seven syllabus topics. Brackets show June 2024, December 2024, June 2025, December 2025 and June 2026.

• Commercial agreements and e-contracts: 75 of 350 (10, 5, 30, 0, 30).
• Company law, corporate documents, notices and opinions: 60 (30, 15, 0, 10, 5).
• Appearances before NCLT, NCLAT, SEBI, SAT and CCI: 50 (0, 15, 10, 10, 15).
• Drafting principles, deeds, conveyancing, stamp duty and registration: 45 (0, 5, 20, 10, 10).
• Pleadings, CPC, court procedure and ADR: 45 (15, 5, 10, 15, 0).
• Contract law, specific relief and negotiable instruments: 40 (10, 15, 0, 10, 5).
• Property law, mainly mortgages, leases and licences: 35 (5, 10, 0, 15, 5).

Source: ICSI question papers, June 2024 to June 2026 (Syllabus 2022, code 532), compulsory questions Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q5, topics grouped and marks counted by Gradehunt.

Commercial agreements went from 30 to 0 and back to 30, and each of the seven topics scored 0 in at least one paper. A weightage list shows where marks have been. It cannot tell you which topic is safe to skip.

Commercial agreements led with 75 of 350 compulsory marks, yet each topic had a paper where it carried nothing.

Which topics came up in most papers?

• SEBI proceedings (settlement, compounding, adjudication, SAT, LODR fines) appeared in Part II of all five papers, counting alternatives.
• The affidavit-in-evidence came in the last three papers: June 2025, December 2025 and the June 2026 alternative.
• Questions on mortgage law under the Transfer of Property Act came in June 2024, December 2025 and June 2026.
• NCLT and NCLAT procedure was asked directly in June 2024, June 2025 and June 2026.

These are counts, not a forecast. They do suggest three formats to write out once by hand: an affidavit-in-evidence, a mortgage deed and a SEBI settlement application.

SEBI proceedings appeared in all five papers, and the affidavit-in-evidence in the last three.

How should you use this weightage for December 2026?

1. Read all five papers before you revise any chapter, starting with the June 2026 paper.
2. Write one skeleton for each document family: deed, agreement, petition, notice, resolution, power of attorney and affidavit.
3. List ten clauses from memory for each commercial agreement: joint venture, share purchase, supply, distribution and franchise.
4. Revise SEBI, NCLT and CCI procedure side by side, because Q5 has had no choice in any paper.
5. Check your answers against ICSI's suggested answers for the same session.
6. Write at least one full paper in three hours and get it checked.

Drafting sits in Group 1 with Elective 1. If you have not picked it yet, see our post on choosing CS Professional elective subjects.

Read the papers first, then learn formats by family.

If you want your drafts and answers checked before 23 December, the Gradehunt CS Professional test series has full papers for Drafting, Pleadings and Appearances, and you can buy this subject on its own. You write by hand and upload, and ex-examiners return the copy within 48 hours with step-wise marks and comments on format. The first paper is checked free.