HYDERABAD: In a key judgment on Group-I Main examination, the Telangana High Court on Tuesday annulled the results and ordered re-evaluation of answer sheets.
Justice Namavarapu Rajeswara Rao set aside the general ranking list and the list of selected candidates.
The High Court pronounced the orders on the petitions of some candidates, alleging irregularities in the conduct of the exam and the evaluation of answer sheets.
About 30, 000 students had appeared in the Group 1 Mains exams conducted by the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) from October 21 to 27, 2024. The results were announced on March 10, 2025, and subsequently, a general ranking list and a list of selected candidates were released.
The single-judge bench, which had reserved its orders in July, pronounced the same on Tuesday. It directed the TSPSC to complete the process of re-evaluation and declaration of results in eight months.
The court made it clear that if re-evaluation of answer scripts is not done, the Main exams will stand cancelled and a re-exam will be conducted for all candidates who passed the Prelims.
It observed that the Supreme Court guidelines in the Sanjay Singh versus UPSC case were not followed in the evaluation of answer scripts.
The court ordered re-valuation through the ‘moderation’ system, which is an accepted method of evaluation in competitive exams.
During the hearing, the court had questioned the use of non-Telugu evaluators. On TGPSC’s decision to appoint evaluators from outside the state, the judge asked whether they could effectively assess answer scripts written in Telugu.
Reacting to the High Court order, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former Minister T. Harish Rao termed it a slap on the face of the state government. “In the backdrop of doubts over exam center allocations, issuance of hall tickets, suspicions in exam results, and allegations of malpractices, the verdict given by the High Court today is a slap in the face for the state government, ” he posted on ‘X’.
Harish Rao alleged that the government was playing with the lives of students by conducting exams in a flawed manner. He sought a response from Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to the High Court order.