The exam was first conducted on October 16, 2022, but was cancelled due to paper leak and was conducted again on June 11 this year (Representative Image)
The Telangana High Court ruling came after a group of students, assisted by the NSUI, approached the court to file a petition stating that there was no biometric attendance system in place and that the OMR sheets did not have hall ticket numbers on them
In a move that might prove costly for the BRS government, the Telangana High Court has cancelled the TSPSC Group 1 Prelims Exam 2023 held on June 11, ordering it to be conducted again. This is the second time the exam has been cancelled.
The ruling came after a group of students, assisted by the NSUI, approached the court to file a petition stating that there was no biometric attendance system in place and that the OMR sheets did not have hall ticket numbers on them.
Speaking to News18, Balmoori Venkat, president of NSUI Telangana, said: “The TSPSC board did not follow the biometric system which is mentioned in guidelines. According to a Supreme Court judgement, these guidelines have to be adhered to strictly. The Telangana High Court took this decision based on the case of Hemalata vs Tamil Nadu state.”
“There were discrepancies in the number of OMR sheets too. Earlier, the number of OMR sheets was 2,33,206. After 17 days, they added 258 sheets through a web note. This means that the number of candidates appearing for exam also changed. Recounting can be done in a day if required. What took them 17 days?” he asked.
Following the HC ruling, the Telangana State Public Service Commission swiftly approached the Supreme Court.
The exam was first conducted on October 16, 2022, but was cancelled due to paper leak and was conducted again on June 11 this year. The previous cancellation had turned into a major political issue with opposition parties Congress and BJP accusing the KCR government of leaving unemployed youth in the lurch. Candidates, too, had expressed disappointment at having to write the same exam again.
“Is it really that hard to recruit Group-I officers? Sending a Rover to the Moon – Chandrayaan – was much easier than conducting Group-I exam in Telangana (sic),” Telangana BJP spokesperson Kishore Poreddy posted on X (formerly Twitter).
