In a significant judgment aimed at ensuring transparency in public recruitment, the Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday declared as unconstitutional a provision that prevented candidates from verifying their answer sheets before the final results of all examination stages are announced.
The division bench of Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay ruled that transparency and fairness in the recruitment process are constitutionally mandated. The court held that candidates cannot be denied access to evaluation information, particularly when an inordinate delay in inspection could cause “irreparable harm” by making it nearly impossible to rectify errors later.
The case originated from an advertisement issued on July 18, 2024, for the recruitment of 99 Additional Private Secretaries (APS) to be stationed at the Dehradun Secretariat and the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (UKPSC) in Haridwar.
The selection process was designed in two stages. The first stage involved skill tests, including Hindi and English typing, computer knowledge, and shorthand. Only those who cleared this stage were eligible for the second stage, a written examination.
When the results for the shorthand examination were declared on February 3, 2026, several candidates, including Rajveer Singh, Ranveer Singh Tomar, and Ruchi Rana, found they had not qualified. Despite passing other skill tests and being confident in their shorthand performance, they were excluded. Suspecting evaluation errors, they sought to inspect their shorthand notebooks and typed answer sheets. However, the Commission denied their requests, citing existing rules that only allowed verification after the final results of both stages were declared.
The petitioners argued that without immediate inspection, they had no way to verify the accuracy of the evaluation or challenge potential mistakes. The division bench agreed, emphasizing that evaluated answer sheets qualify as “information” under the Right to Information Act.
“Transparency and fairness in the recruitment process are constitutionally mandated and candidates cannot be denied information related to evaluation,” the bench noted in its order.
The court specifically addressed the timing of the disclosure. It observed that forcing unsuccessful candidates to wait until the completion of the entire multi-stage recruitment process to see their marks or answer sheets serves no logical purpose and instead creates a hurdle for justice.
The High Court declared the specific provision that disallowed verification at intermediate stages void to the extent it applied to unsuccessful candidates.
“If there is an inordinate delay in inspection, it will be nearly impossible to correct any errors later, and this could cause irreparable harm to the candidates,” the bench stated.
As a result of the ruling:
- Unsuccessful candidates now have the right to verify their answer sheets immediately after the results of a specific test stage are declared.
- The court directed the Commission to permit the petitioners to verify and obtain copies of their shorthand notebooks and answer sheets.
