UP PCS Prelims ’17: HC directs UPPSC to reevaluate answer sheets

ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad high court on Friday directed the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) to re-evaluate the answer sheets of UP PCS (pre) examination-2017 after deleting one of the questions and changing the answers of two others.

The court said the candidates qualifying for the preliminary examination after re-evaluation would be entitled to appear for the main examination.

Any candidate who was earlier eligible but declared ineligible after re-evaluation would not be allowed to participate in the selection process, the court added.

The bench comprising Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Saral Srivastava passed the directives while disposing of a bunch of petitions filed by Rahul Singh and others.

After preliminary examination, UPPSC had uploaded the answer key on its official website in November 2017 and called for objections.

The result of preliminary examination was declared on January 19.

In the bunch of petitions, the candidates challenged 14 questions of general studies paper.

The petitioners said in a number of questions, the answers given by them were correct and more appropriate than the ones mentioned in the answer key. Had they been awarded marks in those questions, they would have qualified the preliminary examination, the petitioners said.

The bench, while disposing of the petitions, clarified that the relief granted would not only be confined to the petitioners but would apply on all candidates who appeared for the preliminary examination and could have succeeded had there been no error on the part of UPPSC in notifying the correct answer key.

UPPSC had advertised on February 22, 2017 for the Combined State Upper Subordinate Services (Preliminary) examination2017, commonnly known as UP PCS, to be conducted for filling up 251 vacancies, which was subsequently increased to 677 vacancies, of the Upper Subordinate Services in the state. A total of 4,55,297 candidates had applied for the exam. The commission conducted the preliminary exam on September 24, 2017, in which 2,46,654 candidates appeared. The results were declared on January 19, 2018. A total of 14,032 candidates were declared eligible for the main examination, which was scheduled to be held from May 17, 2018.