https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Delhi HC Considers Maintainability of CS Aspirants’ Plea for Prelims Answer Key

Counsel was also given time to provide written submissions on the petition's maintainability
Indian Masterminds Stories

The Delhi High Court reserved its decision on the maintainability of a petition filed by 17 civil service aspirants challenging the Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) decision to publish the answer key for the Civil Services Examination 2023 only after the final result was announced.

Justice Chandra Dhari Singh further noted the aspirants’ counsel’s position that the other two prayers in the petition – challenging the preliminary test and re-conducting the exam – are not being pursued in the case.

On July 3, the high court had asked the UPSC to file its preliminary objections on the plea.

The petition also challenges the UPSC press release announcing the preliminary examination results on June 12. The UPSC stated in it that “candidates are also informed that marks, cut off marks, and answer keys of the CS(P) Examination, 2023 will be uploaded on the Commission’s website, i.e. https://upsc.gov.in only after the entire process of the Civil Services Examination 2023 is completed, that is, after the declaration of the final result.”

According to the submission, the impugned press notice has been challenged on the grounds that the UPSC is not making the answer key available to the candidates, calling the action “arbitrary.”

The petition requests that the UPSC publish the answer key immediately.

Counsel also argued that the high court has jurisdiction to hear the civil service candidates’ grievances. Previously, UPSC advocate Naresh Kaushik raised an objection, claiming that the matter should be handled by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which is the competent forum and where another group of aspirants has already moved to reduce the cut off for qualifying Part II (CSAT) exam from 33% to 23%.

He argued that the petition was maintainable and that the Administrative Tribunals Act forbade the high court from hearing the dispute over the recruitment procedure. He also claimed that the contested news release is part of the recruitment process, and thus the high court lacks jurisdiction to hear the petition.

The petitioners claim that the recruiting cycle was conducted arbitrarily, citing the unavailability of answer keys, rejecting candidates’ representations, and posing excessively unclear questions that required guesswork.

They have argued that releasing the answer key after the exam would ensure fairness and allow candidates to have a better understanding of the evaluation process.

The petition also highlights that other institutions, such as state Public Service Commissions, IITs, NLUs, IIMs, and the High Court of Delhi for the Delhi Judicial Service Examination, promptly release provisional answer keys and invite objections from candidates before finalising the answer key based on those objections.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
BPCL_resized
BPCL’s Sanjay Khanna Conferred with “TITAN - Refining Innovation Award” for Pioneering Excellence in HSE and Refining
Vartika Shukla CMD of EIL (1)
Vartika Shukla, CMD of EIL, Honored with Women’s Leadership Award at IOGTC 2025 - Know About Her
Judiciary_india
Karnataka Bar Council Urges Supreme Court Collegium to Reconsider Transfer of Four High Court Judges
NTPC Green Energy Ltd NGEL
NTPC Green Board to Consider Rs 5,000 Crore Bond Issue in FY26
Govt
5 Officers Reshuffled in Uttarakhand Secretariat
Indian Oil IOCL
Indian Oil to Invest Rs. 24,000 Crore in Gujarat for Refinery Expansion and Petrochemical Projects
IFS Indian Forest Service resized (IFoS)
14 IFS and 6 State Forest Service Officers Transferred in Madhya Pradesh, HU Khan Made CF&CEO (CAMPA) at HQ, Bhopal
Concor and gail MoU
CONCOR and GAIL Sign MoU to Promote Clean Fuel and Green Logistics
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Aditya Vikram Agarwal
The Shouts of Joy Were Real: Aditya’s UPSC Rank 9 Was a Family Celebration
Dr Lokesh M IAS
E-Rickshaw Chaos, Waterlogging, Traffic Mess — Can Noida Fix Its Daily Chaos? | Exclusive with Dr Lokesh M, IAS
IRS Padmapani Bora UPSC
IRS Padmapani Bora’s 16-Year-Long Journey in Governance
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Aditya Vikram Agarwal
The Shouts of Joy Were Real: Aditya’s UPSC Rank 9 Was a Family Celebration
“UPSC is not the only path. If you are in any field… UPSC is not the only way to serve the nation. Be...
Raj Krishna Jha UPSC
Managing Study with a Full-Time Job, 4 Failures, & a Dream: UPSC Topper Raj Krishna Jha's Journey | Exclusive
From repeated failures to AIR 8, Raj Krishna Jha’s UPSC success proves that perseverance and strategic...
Utkarsh Yadav UPSC Rajasthan
Brother of Dausa DM Cracks UPSC with AIR 32: Utkarsh Yadav’s Inspiring Journey from Hamindpur to IAS
Utkarsh Yadav, an IIT Roorkee graduate from rural Rajasthan, secured AIR 32 in UPSC 2024 after three...
Social Media
GozJlgrXYAAHoKv
Murals for Cleanliness: Thoothukudi District Launches Art-Inspired Sanitation Drive in Panchayats
Local artists add colour and messages to village walls, promoting hygiene and community pride
Himanshu Nagpal IAS
Varanasi's Beggar Rehabilitation Initiative Recognised by UIDAI, CDO Himanshu Nagpal Shares the News
Mr. Himanshu Nagpal is a 2019-batch IAS officer
IAS Vaishali Chopra
Young IAS Vaishali Chopra Takes a Stand Against Caste Bias During Field Training in Uttar Pradesh
While the issue itself may seem small, the post is resonating widely online for its honest reflection...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
BPCL_resized
BPCL’s Sanjay Khanna Conferred with “TITAN - Refining Innovation Award” for Pioneering Excellence in HSE and Refining
Vartika Shukla CMD of EIL (1)
Vartika Shukla, CMD of EIL, Honored with Women’s Leadership Award at IOGTC 2025 - Know About Her
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Aditya Vikram Agarwal
Dr Lokesh M IAS
IRS Padmapani Bora UPSC
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT