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Telangana HC annuls Group-I test results, orders fresh evaluation or examination
The judgment comes amid allegations of irregularities in the evaluation of Group-I Mains exam conducted by the TGPSC from October 21-27, 2024.
The Telangana high court on Tuesday annulled the results of the Group-I examinations (Mains) conducted by the Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC), following complaints of irregularities in the conduct of the exams in October last year, people familiar with the matter said.
A high court bench, headed by Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao, pronounced the judgment after hearing the arguments over a batch of petitions filed by unsuccessful candidates stating that there were glaring lapses in the evaluation of the Mains examination held between October 21 and 27, 2024.
“The judge struck down the general ranking list and also the final list of selected candidates. He directed that the TGPSC conduct a re-evaluation of the answer sheets of the candidates following the Supreme Court’s guidelines or conduct a fresh examination for Mains and complete the entire process within eight months,” senior high court advocate B Rachna Reddy, who argued for the petitioners, told HT.
Justice Rao said if the state government failed to conduct the re-evaluation of answer sheets or fresh examinations within the stipulated eight-month period, it would automatically lead to the cancellation of the Mains examination, the advocate said.
The judgment comes amid allegations of irregularities in the evaluation of Group-I Mains exam conducted by the TGPSC from October 21-27, 2024 for filling up of 563 posts, including deputy collectors, revenue divisional officers, mandal revenue officers, mandal parishad development officers, deputy superintendents of police, etc.
Around 30,000 candidates had appeared in the exam, the results of which were announced on March 10, 2025. The TGPSC had also released a general rankings list and a list of selected candidates in April.
Some candidates who could not make it to the final list petitioned for the cancellation of the exams, while others whose selection process had already progressed to the order stage opposed such a move. Justice Rajeshwar Rao heard the arguments on July 7, and the verdict was pronounced on Tuesday.
Rachna Reddy raised concerns over the issuance of two hall ticket numbers to individual candidates, causing confusion among those who qualified in the preliminary round. She also alleged that unqualified evaluators assessed the answer scripts written in Telugu, resulting in a low pass percentage of only 18%, in contrast to 30% among English medium candidates.
She also alleged that biometric verification was not properly implemented and questioned the TGPSC’s claim that CCTV surveillance was centrally monitored, calling it a suspicious and unverified assertion.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi working president and former minister KT Rama Rao described the high court’s verdict as a “lesson for the government”.
In a statement, KTR criticised the administration for allegedly violating rules to counter unemployment aspirations and said the verdict should be implemented immediately. He also claimed the government ignored the concerns raised by Group-I candidates and said that chief minister A Revanth Reddy, accused of suppressing the matter, should apologize.
He urged the government not to let appeals or repeated court cases cause injustice to the youth.
