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In a historic moment for UPSC, the Supreme Court has approved the proposal of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to publish the provisional answer keys immediately after the Civil Services Preliminary Examination. The Supreme Court bench headed by Justices PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar recently delivered the verdict after extensive deliberations. The bench said the Commission’s new affidavit represents a “conscious and considered decision”.
After the examination, UPSC will now open the window to raise objections and challenge the answer keys before finalizing the results. Notably, the bench disposed of a batch of petitions challenging UPSC’s previous policy of delayed disclosure.
According to the apex court, the revised mechanism effectively addresses the grievances of the candidates while aligning the functioning of UPSC with the principles of fairness, accountability and transparency. This important change comes after sustained legal efforts by UPSC candidates Vidushi Pandey and Himanshu Kumar, who lobbied for the timely publication of answer scripts.
Two civil services aspirants had approached the court seeking timely publication of answer keys, cut-off marks and marks of the candidates. He argued that withholding these details until the final stages of the examination cycle did not give candidates a fair chance to evaluate their performance and learn from errors.
“We are happy to note that UPSC has taken a decision in this regard,” PTI quoted the bench as saying.
Representing the petitioners, senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the petitions were filed because of the “wrong question” and the petitioners have lost so many years.
“As a result of extensive deliberations and considering the sacred role assigned to UPSC as a constitutional body, the Commission has arrived at a conscious and well-considered decision: (a) After the preliminary examination is conducted, publish the provisional answer keys,” PTI said, citing an affidavit filed last month in the apex court.
What has changed?
Once the provisional answer keys are published by the UPSC exam, candidates will be able to challenge the answer to each question, provided that each objection raised is supported by at least three official sources.
After the provisional answer key is released and objections are filed, a panel of experts from the respective subject will finalize the answer key. It is important to note that the final answer key will be published after the declaration of the final result.
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