'Single Judge Prima Facie Exceeded Scope of Writ Jurisdiction', Rajasthan High Court Stays Order Which Quashed RAS 2021 Prelims Results

The court ordered that it would be open for RPSC to conduct the written main examination on the rescheduled date.

The court refused to go into the questions threadbare and observed that it has prima facie belief that the learned Judge had exceeded the scope of writ jurisdiction in the present case. The court observed that no legal or factual malafides were demonstrated nor procedural illegality was established and in some cases there still exists a grey area, which inturn is not sufficient to overturn an expert's body's decision.

Chief Justice Akil Kureshi and Justice Sudesh Bansal, ruled,

"Be that as it may we find that the appellants have made out a strong prima facie case not only for further hearing of the appeals but also for staying the judgment of the learned Single Judge. Under the circumstances impugned judgment is stayed. Resultantly it would be open for RPSC to conduct written main examination on the rescheduled date."

The division bench also remarked,

"We are at a loss to understand how repeatedly and consistently in almost every public examination without exception the question papers and answer keys set by the expert bodies run into such unfortunate legal controversies. Surely we cannot blame the petitioners for filing frivolous petitions since such expert bodies themselves are forced to delete several questions and in some cases change the originally published correct answer as has happened in the present case also. This is the most avoidable situation."

Relying on Apex Court's rulings in Ran Vijay Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh [(2018) 2 SCC 357] and , the court observed that the scope of judicial review against expert's opinion is extremely limited and the court would not interfere unless the situation presents a clear cut case of experts' decision being palpably wrong. The court added that there is a requirement of finality to the process of public employment. An element of tolerance to the minor error or calibration is discernible since achieving certainty and finality is also important, added the court.

The court observed that the emphasis in Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission, through its Chairman v. Rahul Singh [(2018) 7 SCC 254] was that not only the onus is on the candidates to demonstrate that the key answer is incorrect, but also that it is a glaring mistake which is totally apparent and no inferential process or reasoning is required to show that the key answer is wrong.

The court further rejected the case laws relied by the original petitioners i.e. Richal v. Rajasthan Public Service Commission [(2018) 8 SCC 81] and Kanpur University, through Vice-Chancellor v. Samir Gupta [(1983) 4 SCC 309] on the ground that there is nothing contrary and moreover, the judgments also support the same trend, only distinction being that in the former case, the Supreme Court itself had constituted an expert committee for reconsideration of the questions and answers.

The division bench has issued notices to all respondents. The matter is next listed on 23.03.2022.

Advocates for the appellants include AG M.S. Singhvi, Mr. Sheetanshu Sharma, Mr. Siddhant Jain, Mr. Yash Joshi, Mr. Pranav Bhansali, Mr. M.F. Baig and Mr. Amit Lubhaya, while advocates for the respondents include Sr. Adv. R.N. Mathur, Mr. Shovit Jhajharia, Mr. Raghunandan Sharma, Mr. Abhinav Srivastava and Mr. Ram Pratap Saini.

Single Judge Bench Decision

On 22.02.2022, in a significant development, the Rajasthan High Court, Jaipur, had quashed the preliminary exam results of RAS/RTS Combined Competitive Examination 2021 conducted by Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC).

The court directed RPSC to revise the result of the preliminary examination and to prepare a fresh list of candidates eligible to appear in the mains examination accordingly.

The preliminary examination was conducted on 27.10.2021 and the final answer key was issued on 22.11.2021.

Justice Mahendra Kumar Goyal, observed,

"The upshot of the aforesaid discussion is that the writ petitions are partly allowed in the above mentioned terms. The final answer key dated 22.11.2021 is quashed to the extent as stated hereinabove. Resultantly, the result dated 19.11.2021 stands quashed. The RPSC is directed to revise the result of the preliminary examination and to prepare a fresh list of candidates eligible to appear in the mains examination accordingly."

In the present matter, a batch of writ petitions were filed by the candidates who had failed to secure position in the list of candidates eligible to appear in the mains examination of RAS/RTS Combined Competitive Examination-2021.

The petitioners sought directions to the respondent to revise the result and permit the petitioners to participate in the mains examination on the strength of their merit position.

Also Read: Rajasthan High Court Quashes RAS 2021 Prelims Result; Directs RPSC To Revise Results & Prepare Fresh List of Candidates Eligible For Mains Exam

Case Title: Rajasthan Public Service Commission v. Ankit Sharma & Ors.

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Raj) 76