'Where Did Mahatma Gandhi Start Salt Satyagraha?': Supreme Court Slams UP PSC For Giving Ambiguous Answers, Orders Re-Evaluation
The Supreme Court has ordered the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UPSSSC) to re-evaluate the answer sheets for the 2021–2022 Revenue Lekhpal examination, citing ambiguity in certain questions and answer keys that affected the outcomes for over 8,000 candidates competing for 8,085 vacancies. In doing so, the bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K...
The Supreme Court has ordered the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UPSSSC) to re-evaluate the answer sheets for the 2021–2022 Revenue Lekhpal examination, citing ambiguity in certain questions and answer keys that affected the outcomes for over 8,000 candidates competing for 8,085 vacancies.
In doing so, the bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran also resolved ambiguities in three critical questions from Booklet Series “B” which were:
1. Question 58 (Salt Satyagraha Location): The options given for the question "Where did Mahatma Gandhi start the Salt Satyagrah?" were : (A) Dandi, (B) Surat, (C) Sabarmati and (D) Pawnar.
In this context, the Court observed :
"Although the march commenced from Sabarmati, the actual act of defiance, the violation of the salt law, took place at Dandi. Thus, from a purely technical perspective, (A) Dandi should be treated as correct, as was the official position. All the same, (C) Sabarmati may be correct as well, as Dandi march started from Sabarmati, may not be technically correct but it is close. We also have to consider that it is an examination for Lekhpal. We therefore direct that candidates who opted for either of these two options be awarded full marks."
2. Question 63 (Longest National Highway in UP): The Court accepted NH2 (C) and None of these (D) due to outdated designations.
3. Question 90 (Under the Solar Photovoltaic Irrigation Pump Scheme, small and marginal farmers are eligible for how much grant for an 1800-watt (2 HP) surface solar pump, besides Central Government subsidy?): The options were 15%, 30%, 45% and none of the above. However, the Court found both 30% (B) and 45% (C) were valid answers, reflecting policy changes over time.
The Court criticised the UPSSSC for framing “ambiguous or unclear questions,” stressing that such lapses should not disadvantage candidates. It ordered the Commission to award marks to affected candidates while protecting already selected candidates to avoid disrupting the recruitment process
“We note with some concern that the deficiency in this case lies at the Commission's end as well for the kind of questions framed which were ambiguous or having more than one answers as correct.”, the court said.
“Accordingly, we direct the Commission to re-evaluate the answer scripts in light of the above findings and award marks only to the candidates/appellants herein, and continue the selection process without disturbing the candidates who have already been selected.”, the Court ordered.
Case Title: Reetesh Kumar Singh & Ors. v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors., Civil Appeal Nos. 12069-12076, 5503 of 2025
Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 523