Supreme Court allows UPSC answer key petitions; directs High Courts for redressal amid commission's policy shift

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday approved the UPSC's policy shift to publish provisional answer keys immediately after the Civil Services preliminary examination, in a big relief to lakhs of candidates.

Acting on a bunch of petitions challenging the Union Public Service Commission's "opaque" policy on releasing answer keys, a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Atul S Chandurkar, paved the way for enhanced transparency in future exams while granting petitioners liberty to seek redressal for past grievances through High Courts.

The court recorded its appreciation for amicus curiae senior advocate Jaideep Gupta and Advocate-on-Record Pranjal Kishore for their comprehensive note recommending the immediate release of answer keys post-prelims.

This recommendation was instrumental in prompting the UPSC to concede to the demand in its counter affidavit filed in the lead case of Himanshu Kumar & Ors Vs Union of India. The Commission adopted a new framework wherein provisional keys for objections would be released right after the prelims, while final keys after the overall results.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, along with advocates Rajiv Kumar Dubey, Rajesh G Inamdar, and Shashwat Anand, representing groups of petitioners from the CSE 2024 and CSE 2025 preliminary cycles, urged the court to address their unresolved grievances, including retrospective remedies like re-evaluation or objection windows for candidates who appeared under the old policy.

The court said that petitioners may approach the jurisdictional High Courts for any remaining redressal, which would be heard and decided expeditiously.

The apex court's order effectively endorses the UPSC's policy shift for upcoming cycles, potentially reshaping the fairness of India's premier civil services recruitment process.

UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar, who had previously affirmed the Commission's commitment to court directives in a live session, is expected to oversee the implementation of the new answer key protocol.

Aspirants and legal experts hailed the verdict as a "victory for transparency," though the deferral to High Courts leaves open questions on immediate relief for over 10 lakh candidates from the 2024 and 2025 prelims. With CSE 2025 Mains results still pending, the High Courts' swift action could determine the next steps for affected examinees, lawyers said.