TSPSC Faces High Court Scrutiny Over Group-1 Evaluation
The Telangana High Court’s single-judge bench on Wednesday conducted a hearing on petitions alleging irregularities in the conduct and evaluation process of the Telangana Group-1 examinations. During the proceedings, the court posed several critical questions to the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) regarding the procedures it followed.
Counsel representing the petitioners argued that several candidates with consecutive hall ticket numbers had received identical marks, bringing this anomaly to the court’s attention. They further stated that the provisional marks list was not released within the stipulated timeframe as per the rules, and the final marks were announced only after a delay of about 20 days. This delay, they claimed, raised suspicions of potential malpractice during the interim period.
Taking these arguments into consideration, the bench questioned the evaluation method adopted by TSPSC. Specifically, it inquired how the answer sheets of candidates who wrote the exam in the Telugu medium were evaluated. The court noted concerns that candidates who opted for Telugu might have been awarded lower marks. It asked, “Was there any key paper used for evaluation? Were separate keys provided for Telugu, English, and Urdu mediums?”
Responding to the court’s queries, TSPSC representatives clarified that since it was a descriptive written examination, no key paper was issued to evaluators. They stated that the evaluators were subject matter experts and that the assessments were based on their academic expertise and professional discretion.
The court subsequently directed TSPSC to submit details regarding the number of candidates who wrote the Group-1 exam in the Telugu medium and how many among them were included in the final selection list. TSPSC also informed the court that it would furnish information related to the previous Group-1 examination for comparative analysis.
Highlighting the significance of the examination for thousands of unemployed youth in the state who have been awaiting a Group-1 notification for years, the bench emphasized the need to expedite the case without unnecessary delay. The court adjourned the next hearing to Thursday.