New Delhi: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has issued a notice to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) over eight questions in the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2026, which four aspirants have alleged contain factual inaccuracies or incorrect answer keys.
The Tribunal has directed the UPSC to submit its response before the next hearing, scheduled for October 8.
The development comes just days before the UPSC Civil Services Mains Examination 2026, scheduled to be conducted from August 21 to 30. The applicants, who did not qualify for the Prelims cut-off, have claimed that errors in the disputed questions could have affected their scores by more than 16 marks, potentially making a decisive difference in clearing the qualifying cut-off.
Four Aspirants Approach CAT Over Prelims Questions
Four UPSC aspirants approached the Tribunal on July 27, challenging eight questions from General Studies Paper-Iof the Civil Services Preliminary Examination held on May 24, 2026.
The applicants have alleged that the disputed questions suffer from material factual inaccuracies and that some of the provisional answer keys released by the Commission are inconsistent with authoritative sources.
Read Also: UPSC Civil Services Mains Admit Card 2026 Released: Check Download Steps and Exam Dates
According to their petition, the candidates compared the questions and provisional answers with primary government records, statutory provisions, authoritative publications and other reliable source material before identifying what they claim are discrepancies.
The applicants have argued that some questions either contain incorrect factual premises, have answer keys that conflict with authoritative material, or do not have a sustainable correct option among those provided.
Candidates Claim Errors Could Cost Over 16 Marks
The aspirants have highlighted the cumulative effect of the disputed questions and the negative marking applicable in the Prelims examination.
According to their petition, the disputed questions, along with the consequences of negative marking, could result in a difference of more than 16 marks.
The candidates have argued that such a margin is significant because even a few marks can determine whether an aspirant clears the UPSC Prelims cut-off and becomes eligible to appear for the Mains examination.
The applicants are seeking scrutiny of the disputed questions and the corresponding answer keys.
UPSC Published Provisional Answer Key Before Mains for First Time
The case is particularly significant because the UPSC published the provisional answer key for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination this year before the Mains examination, unlike its usual practice.
The change followed a direction of the Supreme Court, after which the Commission published the provisional keys on May 27, 2026, and invited objections from candidates.
Shantanu Jugtawatad, a Supreme Court advocate representing the applicants, told The New Indian Express that the publication of the provisional answer key before the completion of the examination cycle was a significant departure from the previous practice.
According to the applicants, UPSC generally publishes the answer key much later, after the examination process for that particular year has concluded.
What the Aspirants Have Alleged
The petition states that the eight questions in General Studies Paper-I, Set A, contain serious infirmities.
The applicants have alleged that the disputed questions involve:
- Material factual inaccuracies
- Answer keys inconsistent with authoritative source material
- Questions where none of the available options can be considered a sustainable correct answer
The candidates have relied on government documents, statutory provisions and other authoritative material to support their objections.
Their central argument is that if the questions or answer keys are found to be incorrect, the resulting impact on candidates’ scores could materially alter the Prelims results.
Aviation Insurance Question Under Challenge
One of the questions cited by the applicants is Question 96, which dealt with insurance in the aviation sector and provisions concerning passenger liability under the Montreal Convention.
The question contained two statements.
The first stated that aviation hull insurance covers the physical aircraft, including its body, engine and onboard equipment.
The second stated that under the Montreal Convention, adopted in 1999 by more than 130 countries, airlines are strictly liable to pay compensation to the family or nominee of every deceased passenger without requiring the family to prove fault.
Candidates were given four possible combinations:
- Statement 1 only
- Statement 2 only
- Both Statements 1 and 2
- Neither Statement 1 nor 2
The applicants have argued that the statements and options in the question are inconsistent with authoritative source material.
The question has consequently been cited as one example of what the petitioners describe as flaws in the Prelims paper.
Case Comes Ahead of UPSC Mains
The CAT’s intervention comes at a crucial stage of the Civil Services Examination cycle.
The UPSC Civil Services Mains Examination 2026 is scheduled from August 21 to August 30, meaning the Tribunal’s notice has come shortly before candidates who cleared the Prelims begin the next stage of the examination.
However, the applicants approaching CAT are among those who did not clear the Prelims cut-off and contend that the disputed questions could have materially affected their results.
The Tribunal has not yet ruled on the merits of the allegations. It has only sought the UPSC’s response on the issues raised by the aspirants.
UPSC Asked to Respond by October 8
The matter will next be heard on October 8.
The UPSC will be required to place its response before the Tribunal, following which the CAT will consider the submissions and the issues raised regarding the eight disputed questions.
The case could therefore have implications for how the Commission’s provisional answer keys and objections are dealt with, particularly in the context of the new practice of publishing provisional keys before the Mains examination.
For now, however, there is no finding by the CAT that the eight questions or UPSC’s answer keys are incorrect. The allegations remain subject to the Commission’s response and further proceedings before the Tribunal.
Read Also: UPSC CSE Language Data: Hindi/Maithili Candidates Recommended for IAS, IPS Fall to 5 in 2024
