Delhi HC rejects plea by UPSC aspirant to disclose answer sheets

The Delhi high court has rejected a plea by a Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) aspirant seeking disclosure of his answer sheets of all seven papers of the mains examination along with their model answers under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

A bench of chief justice Satish Chandra Sharma and justice Subramonium Prasad, while dismissing the plea against a single judge order, said that the answer sheets can only be disclosed if public interest requires such a disclosure, which was absent in the present case.

“The issue as to whether the answer sheets of Civil Services (Mains) Examination can be supplied to an unsuccessful candidate or not is no longer res integra as the same stands crystallised by the apex court...Answer sheets of the Civil Services Examination can only be disclosed if public interest requires such a disclosure. In the present case, no public interest has been shown as to why the answer sheets should be provided to the appellant herein,” said the court in a recent order.

The appellant, an engineering graduate, had challenged the single judge’s order denying relief to him, following which he had moved the division bench in appeal.

According to the plea, he appeared for Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination in 2020 and cleared the same. He then appeared for the Mains Examination but was unsuccessful.

He then filed an RTI application to see his answer sheets along with a copy of the model answers but the same was refused by the authorities, including the single judge.

Before the court, the appellant contended that there was no reason as to why he should be denied access to his own answer sheets and marks obtained by him in the Civil Services Examination.

In its order, the court noted that the Supreme Court has dealt with the issue in a matter before it and considered the problems in showing evaluated answer books to candidates.

The court also recorded that as per the top court order, information sought regarding marks in Civil Services Exam cannot be directed to be furnished mechanically.