The Allahabad High Court has stayed a Single Judge’s order directing the postponement of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) Mains Examination and has allowed the exam to proceed on its originally scheduled dates, subject to further orders. The matter was heard by a Division Bench comprising Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Anish Kumar Gupta.
The controversy began when several candidates filed petitions challenging the UPPSC preliminary examination merit list. Their main grievance was that certain reserved category candidates, despite securing marks equal to or higher than those in the unreserved category, were not shifted to the unreserved list. A Single Judge (Justice Ajit Kumar) accepted this contention and directed that the mains exam be postponed until a fresh merit list for the preliminary exam was prepared.
In its appeal, UPPSC argued that postponing the mains exam at the last minute would cause enormous disruption and injustice to over 7,000 candidates. It highlighted that the exam was imminent, scheduled for September 28 and 29, with arrangements such as centre allocations and issuance of admit cards already completed. The Commission stressed that delaying the exam would not only waste resources but also derail the examination calendar, affecting future recruitment cycles.
The Division Bench agreed with these submissions, observing that postponement at such an advanced stage would create chaos and uncertainty for thousands of aspirants. The Court noted the importance of balancing fairness to candidates raising genuine concerns with the larger interest of the majority who had prepared extensively for the examination.
Accordingly, the Court issued an interim order permitting UPPSC to hold the mains exam as scheduled. However, it imposed an important safeguard: the results of the mains examination shall not be declared until further orders. The Court also specifically stayed paragraph 52 of the Single Judge’s order, which had mandated the postponement of the examination.
By this decision, the Division Bench sought to strike a balance between competing interests. While ensuring that the mains exam is not derailed at the last moment, it also kept open the possibility of revisiting the grievances regarding the merit list. This approach ensures that the rights of all candidates are protected while preventing unnecessary disruption to the examination process.
In effect, the High Court has allowed the examination process to continue smoothly while keeping judicial oversight intact, ensuring that both fairness and practicality are maintained.
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