# Seating Arrangement Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — Chetan, Rohan, Bhavna, Nikhil, Esha, Divya

> Solve this 6-person linear seating arrangement puzzle for IBPS PO, SBI Clerk, SSC exam practice. 6 logic clues, one answer. Free daily reasoning puzzle.

Source: https://deducepuzzles.com/blog/2026-06-28-seating-arrangement-reasoning-neighbours-in-a-row

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Published: 2026-06-28 · Difficulty: hard · 6 clues · 6 people
Exams: IBPS PO · SBI PO · SSC CGL

## The puzzle

Chetan, Rohan, Bhavna, Nikhil, Esha, Divya — sit in a single row, all facing north — seat 1 is the far-left end and seat 6 is the far-right end. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.

1. Nikhil sits immediately to the left of Esha.
2. Nikhil sits somewhere to the right of Chetan.
3. Divya sits somewhere to the left of Rohan.
4. Bhavna sits somewhere to the left of Chetan.
5. Rohan sits somewhere to the right of Chetan.
6. Exactly 1 person sits between Rohan and Bhavna.

## Answer

Divya, Bhavna, Chetan, Rohan, Nikhil, Esha (left to right).

Seat 1: Divya · Seat 2: Bhavna · Seat 3: Chetan · Seat 4: Rohan · Seat 5: Nikhil · Seat 6: Esha

## Step-by-step solution

1. Start: 720 possible left-to-right orders of 6 people.
2. Clue 1 — "Nikhil sits immediately to the left of Esha." narrows it to 120 possibilities. Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
3. Clue 6 — "Exactly 1 person sits between Rohan and Bhavna." narrows it to 24 possibilities. Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
4. Clue 2 — "Nikhil sits somewhere to the right of Chetan." narrows it to 12 possibilities. Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
5. Clue 3 — "Divya sits somewhere to the left of Rohan." narrows it to 5 possibilities. Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
6. Clue 4 — "Bhavna sits somewhere to the left of Chetan." ⇒ Nikhil → seat 5, Esha → seat 6 (2 possibilities left). Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _ · Nikhil · Esha
7. Clue 5 — "Rohan sits somewhere to the right of Chetan." ⇒ Chetan → seat 3, Rohan → seat 4, Bhavna → seat 2, Divya → seat 1 (1 possibility left). Board (left → right): Divya · Bhavna · Chetan · Rohan · Nikhil · Esha
8. Exactly one order survives every clue: Divya, Bhavna, Chetan, Rohan, Nikhil, Esha (left to right).

## How to crack row seating puzzles faster

- Lock the **ends first** — any "far-left / far-right" clue fixes a seat instantly.
- Convert "immediately to the left/right" into **adjacent pairs** and slide them along.
- "Exactly _k_ people between" gives a **fixed gap** — try it at each valid position.
- Eliminate, don't guess: each clue should cut the possibilities until one order remains.

## FAQ

### Who sits in the middle (seat 3) in this seating arrangement?

Chetan sits in seat 3. The full order: Divya, Bhavna, Chetan, Rohan, Nikhil, Esha (left to right).

### How do you solve linear seating arrangement puzzles for bank exams?

Fix direct positions first (far-left / far-right ends), then apply relative clues (left of, immediately left, exactly k between). Eliminate impossible orders until a single arrangement satisfies every clue.

## Learn the method

This post is one worked example. The topic page for linear seating arrangement carries the full method,
the clue-wording table and the mistakes that cost marks: https://deducepuzzles.com/reasoning/seating-arrangement

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