Telangana High Court strikes down TGPSC Group 2 final selection list

Telangana High Court quashed TGPSC’s Group-II 2016 final selection list, holding that the Commission illegally evaluated tampered OMR sheets in violation of 2017 court orders and Technical Committee report. Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka said transparency in public recruitment cannot be compromised.

By Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday quashed the TGPSC re-evaluation and final selection list for Group-II Services, holding that the Commission violated binding judicial directions while assessing OMR sheets of candidates.

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The court passed the order in a batch of writ petitions filed by several aspirants who challenged the process adopted by TGPSC after mismatches were reported in the 2016 written examination.

Senior Counsel L Ravichander, appearing for the petitioners, argued that TGPSC had acted in direct defiance of the Technical Committee’s report dated March 9, 2017 and the Division Bench judgment. He submitted that both the report and the judgment clearly barred evaluation of OMR sheets containing tampering, use of whiteners or alterations in Part-B, the main answer portion.

He contended that only minor clerical mistakes in Part-A could be considered, but the Commission evaluated visibly altered answer sheets in Part-B, thereby changing the rules of the game after the game was played.

Ravichander also questioned TGPSC’s decision to extend re-evaluation to all four papers when the mismatch problem arose only in Paper-I. He called it a clear case of exceeding jurisdiction.
He further pointed out lack of transparency in the re-evaluation process and said no criteria, methodology or verification records were disclosed. He argued that automated scanners could not cure the basic illegality.

“A technological process cannot cure an illegality that starts the moment a prohibited sheet is put into the system,” he submitted.

Appearing for TGPSC, Standing Counsel P S Rajasekhar maintained that the Commission acted strictly according to the Division Bench judgment and Technical Committee recommendations. He said automated scanners ensured uniformity and the petitioners had produced no specific proof of irregularity. He warned that cancelling the recruitment now would affect already appointed candidates.

Rejecting the defence, the court held that the Division Bench judgment left no room for ambiguity and OMR sheets with tampering in Part-B had to be excluded outright. Justice Bheemapaka observed that TGPSC departed from the letter and spirit of the binding directions and had no authority to expand re-evaluation beyond Paper-I.

The court ruled that reliance on automated scanners could not override clear judicial and technical prohibitions. Quoting the Supreme Court’s ruling in Tej Prakash Pathak v Rajasthan High Court, the judge said fairness and transparency in public employment cannot be compromised for administrative convenience.