UPSC challenges judicial order to reveal civil services marks

New Delhi, May 3 (UNI) The Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) today challenged the order of the single judge bench to reveal the individual marks, cut-off marks and grading system in various subjects to the candidates appearing for the civil services examinations before a double bench of the Delhi High Court.

Filing a review petition, the UPSC has sought the direction of the court to set aside the April 17 order directing it to reveal individual marks, cut-off marks and solution keys of the examination to the students.

If the raw and scaled marks are disclosed, it would lead to mushroom growth of coaching institutes of interested group of aspirants all over the counrty. Disclosure of the instructions sought for has the real potential to cause serious damage to the examination system, said the petition filed by counsel Binu Tamta for the UPSC.

While dismissing the petition of the UPSC on April 17, Justice B D Ahmed said, ''In any event, the public interest in disclosure is overwhelming and I am of the view that the Central Information Commission(CIC) has approached the matter in the correct perspective and has issued the directions for disclosure of the information.'' The UPSC being a public body, is required to act and conduct itself in a fair and transparent manner. It would also be in public interest that this fairness and transperancy is displayed by the revealing of the information sought by the candidates.

The UPSC had filed a petition in the High Court challenging CIC's November 13, 2006 order to disclose within two weeks the marks of the candidates.

A full-bench of the CIC, headed by Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, had passed the order on separate applications filed by over 100 unsuccessful candidates seeking disclosure of the marks obtained by them in the preliminary examination, 2006.

UNI