Relief for Group-II 2015 rank holders: Telangana HC stays order cancelling recruitment

Hyderabad: In a major relief to candidates selected through the 2015–16 Group-II examination, the Telangana High Court on Thursday stayed the earlier single-judge order that had cancelled the entire recruitment process.

The interim relief was granted by a Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice after the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TGPSC) challenged the single bench verdict.

Why were the Group-II results cancelled earlier?

Recently, a Single Bench of the High Court delivered a sensational verdict cancelling the 2015–16 Group-II recruitment. The court had set aside the final selection list released on October 24, 2019, citing serious irregularities in the evaluation process.

The court had held that the re-evaluation of Part-B answer scripts, which allegedly involved double bubbling, use of whitener and erasures, was illegal and against the recommendations of the technical committee.

Court’s observations on evaluation irregularities

The Single Bench had clearly stated that the TGPSC had no authority to act contrary to the High Court’s earlier directions and the recommendations of the expert technical committee.

It further observed that visible signs of tampering in answer sheets could not be ignored and that the Commission had failed in its duty by doing so. Declaring the 2019 results as arbitrary and unlawful, the court had struck down the entire selection process.

Directions issued to TGPSC

The Single Bench had directed the TGPSC to conduct a fresh evaluation strictly in accordance with the technical committee’s recommendations and court orders. Release a fresh list of eligible candidates and complete the entire recruitment process within eight weeks.

Present status: Interim relief for candidates

Challenging this decision, the TGPSC moved the matter before the Division Bench.

After hearing the appeal, the High Court has now stayed the implementation of the Single Bench order, providing temporary relief to the affected Group-2 rank holders. The matter will now be taken up for further hearing by the Division Bench.