Landmark moment for UPSC: Delay in Civil Services exam answer keys to be a thing of the past, check SC's new ruling here

In a landmark moment for UPSC, the Supreme Court has approved the Union Public Service Commission's (UPSC) proposal to publish provisional answer keys immediately after the Civil Services Preliminary Examination. The Supreme Court bench presided over by Justices PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar delivered the verdict recently after extensive deliberation. The bench observed that the Commission's new affidavit represented a "conscious and well-considered decision."

Post exam, the UPSC will now open window to raise objections and challenge answer key before finalising results. Notably, the bench disposed of a batch of petitions challenging the UPSC's earlier policy of delayed disclosure.

According to the apex court, the revised mechanism effectively addresses candidates' grievances while aligning the UPSC's functioning with the principles of fairness, accountability, and transparency. This monumental change comes after sustained legal efforts of UPSC aspirants Vidushi Pandey and Himanshu Kumar, who lobbied for timely publication of answer scripts.

The two civil services aspirants had approached the Court seeking the timely publication of answer keys, cut-off marks, and candidates' scores. They argued that withholding these details until the final stage of the exam cycle deprived aspirants of a fair chance to evaluate their performance and learn from errors.

"We are happy to note that the UPSC has taken a decision in this regard," PTI quoted the bench as saying.

Representing the petitioners, senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the pleas were filed because of "wrong question" and the petitioners have lost so many years.

"As a consequence of comprehensive deliberation and considering the pious role assigned to the UPSC as a constitutional body, the Commission has arrived at a conscious and well considered decision as under: (a) publishing the provisional answer key, after the preliminary examination is conducted," the UPSC said, PTI reported citing the affidavit filed last month in the apex court.

What has changed?

Once the provisional answer key is published after the UPSC exam, candidates will be able to challenge the answers to each question provided each objection raised is supported by at least three authoritative sources.

After the release of the provisional answer key, and submission of objections, a panel of experts of the concerned subject will finalise the answer keys. It is important to note that the final answer keys will be published after the declaration of the final results.

(With agency inputs)