Telangana HC Rejects TGPSC’s Appeal Against Group-1 Appointments

Hyderabad: A batch of writ petitions faulting the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TGPSC) examinations caught the attention of a division bench and a single judge of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday.

The TGPSC moved a writ appeal challenging the interim direction of learned single judge which directed TGPSC not to proceed with the appointment process under Notification No. 02/2024 dated February 19, 2024. The notification pertains to recruitment to the posts of Group-I Services in the state.

The bench of Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara dealt with a writ appeal, wherein TGPSC contended that the order of the single judge jeopardised the recruitment process, affecting numerous candidates who were close to securing employment. TGPSC also contended that delaying the process would hamper filling key administrative posts.

Arguing that the balance of convenience lay with the TGPSC, the government recruiter defended its evaluation process as fair and transparent and asserted that answer scripts were assessed by qualified experts in Telugu, English, and Urdu, with evaluator identities kept confidential to ensure impartiality.

The division bench, however, refused to entertain the writ appeal stating that it was only an interlocutory order and it was open for the public service commission to raise all its concerns/issues for adjudication before the single judge. In fact, the bench took cognisance of writ petitions listed before the single judge and scheduled for hearing in the latter part of the day.

Arguing before the single judge Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao, senior counsel G. Vidyasagar and Surender Rao pointed out several discrepancies in the Group I examinations.

Senior Counsel G. Vidyasagar arguing for the petitioners pointed out that several web-notes and press-notes issued by the TGPSC would show that there was no consistency in the pattern of examination conducted, number of candidates participated in the Mains Group-I examination, number of centres in which the examinations were conducted and the status of the evaluators whose services were availed for evaluation of the answer scripts of the candidates.

The senior counsel also argued that this itself would show that the entire process undertaken by the respondents from the date of publication of candidates eligible to write the mains examination till the declaration of general ranking list of the mains examination is irregular.

The judge also sought for a clarification from the Standing Counsel for TSPSC P.S. Rajashekhar Rao on the supply of key to the invigilators for carrying out of evaluation of papers in English, Urdu and Telugu. The judge will continue hearing the matter on Thursday.

The judge had earlier heard a writ plea challenging the evaluation process conducted by TGPSC under the recruitment notification. The judge also directed the TGPSC to continue with the certificate verification process, however, not to proceed with appointment process.

TIMELINE

2022

April 26: TSPSC issued Notification No. 04/2022 to fill 503 Group-I posts in Telangana.

May 31: Last date for submitting applications.

October 16: The Preliminary Examination was conducted, with 2.86 lakh candidates appearing.

2023

March 18: Following a question paper leak, TGPSC cancelled the October 2022 preliminary exam based on findings from a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

June 11: A re-examination of the preliminary exam was held.

September 23: The Telangana High Court cancelled the June 2023 preliminary exam, citing TGPSC's failure to adhere to its own guidelines, including mandatory biometric verification. The court ordered a fresh examination.

September 27: A Division Bench of the High Court dismissed TSPSC's appeal, upholding the cancellation of the June 2023 preliminary exam.

October 21: TSPSC challenged the High Court order before the Supreme Court. The matter remained pending.

2024

February 18: TSPSC cancelled Notification No. 04/2022 in the public interest, considering the cumulative issues faced during the recruitment process.

February 19: While the SLP was pending, TSPSC cancelled Notification No.04/2022 through a web-note and simultaneously issued Notification No.02/2024 for 563 Group-I posts (an increase of 60 posts). The new notification required candidates who had applied earlier to login and reapply afresh; failure to do so would result in their exclusion.

June 9: Group-I Preliminary Exam conducted at 897 centres across 31 districts.

June 12: TSPSC issued web-note scheduling the Mains Exam from October 21 to 27, 2024, even before prelim results were declared.

July 7: Preliminary exam results declared; 31,382 candidates shortlisted in 1:50 ratio for Mains. Another 21 sports quota candidates were permitted by the High Court in WP No.24113/2024, totaling 31,403 candidates.

October 21: Group-I Mains Examination held in Hyderabad. 21,093 candidates appeared across three districts.

October 27: TSPSC issued a web-note detailing attendance, but lacked clarity on the number of exam centers and inconsistencies in PwD data.

2025

March 10: TSPSC declared provisional marks for Mains. Candidates could access paper-wise marks for one week through their logins.

March 13: Instead of publishing the total marks list on the website as required under Para 15.2 of Notification No.02/2024, TSPSC issued a press note to counter misinformation and describe the valuation process — including double evaluation, involvement of a Chief Examiners Committee, and a post-valuation “scrutiny” of marks by TSPSC.

April 16: Telangana High Court heard a writ pela challenging the evaluation process conducted by TSPSC under the recruitment notification No. 02/2024 dated February 19, 2024. The judge passed an interim order halting the appointment process while allowing the certificate verification process. The writ is pending.

April 30: A division bench dismissed a writ appeal against the interim order passed by the single judge halting the appointment process.