The Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (UKPSC) PCS Mains Examination, scheduled for December 6-9 , has been postponed. The Uttarakhand High Court issued this directive, ordering the removal of one preliminary exam question and a review of three others.
This postponement impacts the 2024-25 recruitment process , which seeks to fill 123 government positions . These roles include Deputy Collector, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), and Block Development Officer (BDO). Candidates who qualified in the preliminary stage now face an indefinite wait for new exam dates.
Preliminary Exam Challenge
The controversy originated from the preliminary examination conducted in June . Multiple candidates, including Kuldeep Kumar, filed a petition before the Nainital High Court. The petition challenged four questions from the exam paper.
Petitioners argued these questions were factually incorrect or contained serious ambiguities in their options. Such issues, they stated, could unfairly impact candidate scores and the resulting merit list.
High Court Directives
The High Court issued specific instructions to the UKPSC. It mandated the complete removal of question number 70 from the preliminary examination. All scores will be recalculated without this question.
Additionally, the court ordered an expert committee to thoroughly review the remaining three disputed questions. This independent committee must impartially assess the validity and clarity of these questions.
Reasons for Postponement
The court explicitly stated its rationale for postponing the Mains examination. It ruled that proceeding with the main exam would be inappropriate. This is pending an impartial examination of the disputed questions.
The High Court emphasized the need for an accurate merit list. It required the preliminary merit list to be correctly recalculated. This recalculation must incorporate the expert committee’s review and the removal of question number 70. The integrity of the recruitment process depends on this accuracy.
Candidate Outlook
Candidates preparing for the Mains examination await further announcements from the UKPSC. The commission will release new examination dates. These dates will follow the full implementation of the High Court’s directives.
The review process and subsequent recalculation of the merit list will dictate the next steps. Candidates should monitor official UKPSC channels for updates.