UPSC shockers: Curious cases of Shikha Gautam and Ranjit Yadav - Those who ‘cleared’ exam, but did not

Several misleading claims about cracking the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination - one of India’s toughest examinations - came to the fore soon after the results were declared on March 6. This year, a resident of Fatehpur village in the Ariyaru block of Sheikhpura district in Bihar falsely claimed that he had secured the 440th rank in the civil services examination.

Within no time, Ranjeet Yadav became a celebrity in Bihar, with people - including local police - felicitating him with flowers and asking him to deliver a motivational speech. Residents reportedly congratulated him, and the news drew attention from local media as well as political figures. Former MLA Vijay Samrat is said to have congratulated Yadav and presented him with gifts.

Yadav also delivered a speech in which he claimed that he cleared the examination by studying only four hours a day.

In a video that later circulated online, he spoke about the importance of determination and focus.

"Life is a long journey, but there is only one test in it—to keep your focus on the goal. You must only look at your goal and where it is. When your goal is visible to you, reaching the destination becomes easier. But if you cannot see your goal, then even after making a thousand attempts, you will not achieve anything. Whether it is your mother, father, or anyone else guiding you, it will not matter unless your own thinking changes and you decide that you must reach your destination. Say to God, "You do not have to write my destiny. I will write it myself". Work so hard that one day destiny itself says: "Even if I was late, I always belonged to you," he said in a viral video.

However, the claims were later challenged by local media, which pointed out that the rank mentioned by Yadav belonged to another candidate. A report by Live Hindustan stated that the candidate who secured the rank was Ranjith Kumar R, a resident of Chikkaballapur in Karnataka.

More cases

This incident is among several similar cases reported after the declaration of the 2025 UPSC Civil Services results.

In another instance, Aakansha Singh from Bhojpur in Bihar had claimed that she secured the 301st rank in the examination. A day later, the UPSC clarified that the candidate who had actually secured that rank was Aakansha Singh from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, who is reportedly working as a gynaecologist.

In a separate case, Shikha Gautam mistakenly believed she had cleared the examination after spotting her name in the results document. She later acknowledged that she had misread the list and had not cleared the Mains examination.

UPSC CSE 2025 toppers

The final results of the 2025 Civil Services Examination were announced by the Union Public Service Commission on March 6. This year, a total of 958 candidates have been recommended for IAF, IFS, IPS and Central Services. Anuj Agnihotri ranked first, while Rajeshwari Suve M and Akansh Dhull secured the second and third ranks respectively.