Andhra Pradesh High Court Postpones Hearing on APPSC Plea Regarding Group-1 Exam Case, Next Hearing Set for April 18. Interim Order Safeguarding Positions of 167 Group-1 Officers Extended Until Then.
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Vijayawada: At the Andhra Pradesh High Court, deliberations over a plea by the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) have been postponed. This plea challenges a prior ruling by a single judge which invalidated the results of the Group-1 Mains examination conducted as part of the 2018 notification cycle. The high court has now rescheduled the hearing for April 18, extending the period of uncertainty for stakeholders involved.
Central to this legal dispute is an interim order from a division bench of the court. This order serves to safeguard the professional status of 167 Group-1 officers who secured their positions through the disputed examination. The court has decided that this protective measure will stay in place until the newly appointed hearing date, maintaining the status quo for the officers in question.
The push for this adjournment originated from the government’s legal representation. The government pleader put forth a request for a delay in proceedings, citing
“the unavailability of the advocate general”
-as the primary reason. This request was granted, leading to the postponement of the hearing to the later date in April.
This case marks a pivotal moment for the APPSC, with the outcomes potentially impacting the commission’s operational integrity and the future of the individuals who had navigated through the selection process.
As the Andhra Pradesh High Court prepares to reassess the plea, all eyes will be on how this legal battle unfolds, bearing significant implications for public service commission procedures and the careers of numerous civil servants within the state.
BACKGROUND
Andhra Pradesh high court previously cancelled the 2018 Group-I (mains) examination, ruling that the valuation of answer sheets was done against the rules of Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC). The court also cancelled the selected candidates’ list announced by APPSC on May 25, 2022 and directed it to conduct the exam again within six months.
The bench of Justice Nimmagadda Venkateswarlu heard the petition filed by a few Group-I job aspirants, who appeared for the examination in 2018, alleging discrepancies in valuation of answer sheets. The petitioners alleged that answer sheets were evaluated multiple times, which is against the rules framed by the board.
The APPSC initially conducted digital evaluation and declared 326 candidates as eligible for interview.
Later, it conducted manual evaluation and declared 202 candidates among them as ineligible. Only 124 candidates appeared for the interview.
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