The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) informed the Supreme Court that it will release provisional answer keys after the civil services preliminary examination. This marks a change from its earlier practice of issuing keys only after the full recruitment cycle.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) informed the Supreme Court of its decision to release provisional answer keys following the civil services preliminary examination.
This marks a shift from its previous practice of issuing keys only after the completion of the year-long recruitment cycle.
In an affidavit submitted to the apex court, which was part of a petition by Himanshu Kumar and represented by senior advocate Devadatt Kamat along with advocates Rajesh G. Inamdar and Shashwat Anand, the UPSC stated that provisional answer keys would be made available after the prelims.
This change aims to allow candidates to voice their concerns or objections, which will then be reviewed by a team of subject experts before finalizing the answer keys.
The final version of the answer key will be released after the final results are announced.
However, the petitioner’s counsel pointed out that the affidavit did not address how candidates who participated in the CSE 2025 Prelims in May 2025, when no provisional keys were provided, could seek redress.
This has left aspirants uncertain about potential retrospective remedies such as re-evaluations or opportunities to raise objections.
This development follows a previous petition filed on August 11, 2025, when 28 civil services aspirants challenged the UPSC’s “opaque” answer key policy for the 2025 civil services prelims.
Mr. Kamat and Mr. Anand argued that the “delayed release of answer keys undermined transparency and fairness in the examination process.”
A Bench led by Justice P.S. Narasimha is currently deliberating on comprehensive guidelines for future UPSC examinations, which will include timelines for releasing answer keys and processes for raising objections.