PCS-J Exam 2022 'Irregularities' | Allahabad HC Directs UPPSC To Produce 'Disputed' Answer Books In Sealed Cover

The Allahabad High Court, while hearing several pleas concerning the allegations of serious irregularities in the UP-PCSJ (Mains) 2022 examination, has directed the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) to submit the petitioners' disputed original answer books in sealed covers before the court.

The Court also directed the commission to ensure that the marks of all petitioners are uploaded to the website so that they may be visible to them by tomorrow.

The direction, issued on December 6, 2024, by a bench comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Donadi Ramesh, came amidst claims of arbitrary marking and unauthorized tampering with scores in the PCS-J aspirants-petitioners.

During the hearing of the pleas, the Court identified two main issues raised by the petitioners: first, the awarding of zero or fewer marks for answers that the petitioners claimed were correct, and second, the alleged unauthorized alteration of original marks awarded to them.

Appearing for the petitioners, Senior Advocate Syed Farman Ahmad Naqvi, along with Advocate Shashwat Anand, argued that several candidates had been unfairly awarded zero or drastically reduced marks despite providing correct answers. They also highlighted allegations of deliberate reductions in scores after the initial evaluation, raising questions about the transparency and integrity of UPPSC's examination processes.

Responding to these concerns, the Court directed UPPSC to take immediate remedial measures. The case is next listed for December 12, 2024.

The matter reached the HC after a writ petition was filed by a candidate who appeared in the UP Judicial Service Civil Judge (Junior Division) (Mains) Examination 2022 in May 2023 and claimed discrepancies in his handwriting in the English Mains paper. Pursuant to this, several petitions were moved by similarly situated candidates, and the same were tagged together.