UPSC Civil Services Exams : Supreme Court Allows Withdrawal Of Petition Seeking Answer Key & Cutoff Marks Of Prelims 2023

The Supreme Court on Tuesday(Aug 22) granted permission for the withdrawal of a petition that sought publication of the answer key and cutoff marks for the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2023. The decision comes in light of the fact that a similar issue is already under consideration by the Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court had reserved its decision on the matter on 2nd August 2023.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Justice Sanjay Karol was hearing a plea seeking disclosure of answer key and cutoff marks in the interest of transparency and fairness.

Representing the petitioner, Advocate Mr. Saurav Agarwal presented the plight of the students affected by the uncertainties surrounding the release of the answer key and cutoff marks for the UPSC CSE Prelims 2023. He emphasized that the Delhi High Court had only reserved orders on the issue of maintainability.

Earlier on 2nd August 2023, the Delhi High Court had reserved the verdict regarding the "maintainability" of a petition challenging a press note issued by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on June 12.

The press note stated that the answer key for the preliminary examination of the Civil Services Examination 2023 would only be released once the entire examination process is completed.

The petition in question, brought forward by 17 aspiring civil servants sought a court order instructing the UPSC to promptly publish the answer key for the preliminary exam.

The petitioner had clarified that they were no longer praying for nullification of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2023 and the re-conduction of the exam.

The petitioners' plea highlighted several concerns regarding the conduct of the examination, including the lack of provision of answer keys to candidates who have appeared for the exam, failure to address representations made by candidates within a designated timeframe, and the formulation of questions that are excessively vague.

Case title: Aditi Trivedi v. UPSC

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