SC approves UPSC's proposal to publish provisional answer keys; Petitioners hail move a "historic victory for aspirants"

New Delhi [India], October 15 (ANI): 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 and invite objections from candidates before finalising results a landmark reform that ends decades of resistance and ushers in a new era of transparency in India's most prestigious recruitment process.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar, while disposing of a batch of petitions challenging the UPSC's earlier policy of delayed disclosure, observed that the Commission's new affidavit represented a "conscious and well-considered decision" made after extensive deliberation.
The Court stated that the revised mechanism effectively addresses candidates' grievances while aligning the UPSC's functioning with the principles of fairness, accountability, and transparency.
The change follows sustained legal efforts by civil services aspirants Vidushi Pandey and Himanshu Kumar, who 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.
Reacting to the verdict, petitioner Vidushi Pandey described the ruling as a "historic victory for millions of civil service aspirants" across the country.
"For the first time, UPSC will release a provisional answer key right after the Preliminary Examination, allowing candidates to raise objections and ensure fairness before results are declared. This long-awaited reform enhances transparency, restores faith in the examination process, and safeguards the hard work of countless deserving aspirants who devote years of their lives to this exam. Now we will be free from fear and anxiety after the Preliminary Examination and will also have an opportunity to improve ourselves," Pandey said in a statement to ANI.
The UPSC, in its counter-affidavit before the Supreme Court, formally committed to releasing provisional answer keys soon after the Preliminary Examination rather than waiting until the entire recruitment cycle concludes. The move marks a major policy shift until last year, including the 2023 Civil Services Prelims, the Commission had maintained that marks, cut-off scores, and answer keys could only be released once the full exam process, including interviews, was completed.
This change comes after years of mounting pressure. Parliamentary Committees, as well as the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), had repeatedly urged the UPSC to publish answer keys and marks along with prelims results to improve accountability. Despite these recommendations, the Commission resisted change until these petitions compelled judicial intervention.
During earlier hearings, the Supreme Court had appointed Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta as amicus curiae to assist in the matter and directed that copies of the petition be shared with him.
With Tuesday's order, the Supreme Court effectively brings to a close a long-standing debate on examination transparency, setting a precedent for all competitive examinations in India. The decision is expected to benefit lakhs of aspirants who take the civil services examination each year, allowing them to verify their performance in real time, raise objections where necessary, and hold the UPSC to higher standards of openness and accountability. (ANI)