Allahabad HC Seeks Parties' Stand On Justice Mathur Commission Report Suggesting Reforms In UP PCS(J) Exam Process

A bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra recorded that the Preliminary Report (Part-I) was submitted in 14 sets, and a cover letter attached to it specified that the report was essentially based on certain broader issues and for immediate reforms and amendments in the examination procedure.

The cover letter also stated that final recommendations would be submitted after receiving inputs from other statutory agencies involved in conducting competitive examinations, and from institutions utilising technology for descriptive assessments.

The Court directed that the Office shall supply copies of the Preliminary Report to the counsel for the parties so that they may peruse the same and file their written submissions in response. The court will hear the matter next on August 6.

It may be noted that the report has been filed pursuant to an order passed by a Division Bench of the HC appointing the commission to examine serious concerns raised by several candidates regarding inconsistencies and malpractices in the conduct and evaluation of the examination.

As reported earlier, the Court had urged the Commission to file its report by May 31st, 2025, with suggestions on several crucial issues, including:

• Ways and means to make the evaluation process of UPPCS (J) Examination more responsive to the needs of selection and more trustworthy for all stakeholders, including the UPPSC;
• Steps to be taken to enforce such processes and procedures;
• Mechanisms to be revised or introduced to check deviations from accepted methods and practices prescribed by the Commission;
• Reasons and circumstances that may have prevented the Commission from detecting its own mistakes and offering timely self-correction before the declaration of results on August 30, 2023.

The Commission was constituted after the lead petitioner, Shravan Pandey, through Senior Advocate Syed Farman Ahmad Naqvi and Advocate Shashwat Anand, approached the HC alleging that his English answer sheet had been tampered with and that the handwriting did not match his own.

Apart from Pandey, several other candidates also approached the court with their grievances, seeking the issuance of appointment letters based on allegations of inconsistencies and malpractices in marking.

The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) in July 2024 itself admitted to an error in the preparation of the merit list for 50 candidates in the PCS-J 2022 Mains exam.

Noting the overlapping nature of multiple petitions, the Court had emphasised the need for a comprehensive and independent inquiry to safeguard the integrity of judicial appointments.

The Court had also underscored that the general practices and procedures of the Commission may need reform and upgradation to ensure standardised and credible evaluation mechanisms.