The Gujarat High Court has ordered the State Government to appoint five candidates as Section Officers after declaring that the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC) acted unlawfully by re-evaluating answer sheets. The Court observed that rules strictly prohibit re-evaluation and only allow re-checking of marks.
The candidates were initially declared successful in the final result of the Deputy Section Officer, Class III recruitment examination and were called for document verification. However, they were later removed from the selection list due to a revised result following an illegal re-evaluation process.
“Re-Evaluation Not Permitted Under Rules” — Gujarat High Court
In their ruling, Justices A.S. Supehia and Gita Gopi cited the recruitment rules of 2018 and held that:
“Clause 17(5) of the advertisement specifically prohibits re-evaluation. It only allows re-checking within a limited period of 30 days.”
They clarified that GPSC's acceptance of applications for re-evaluation, even after the prescribed period, was clearly in violation of the rules.
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The court emphasized that:
“There is no provision under the rules or the advertisement which empowers GPSC to re-evaluate answer sheets. Accepting such applications beyond the cut-off date was illegal.”
Timeline of the Events
The recruitment process began in September 2018 when the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC) issued an advertisement inviting applications for the post of Deputy Section Officer, Class III. The preliminary and main examinations were conducted in February and May 2019, respectively. By September 2019, the final results were declared, and the appellants were listed as successful candidates. Subsequently, during October and November 2019, these candidates were called for document verification.
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However, in December 2019, GPSC irregularly accepted re-evaluation requests from nine candidates, even though the deadline for such applications had already passed. Acting on these requests, GPSC constituted a new expert panel and issued a corrigendum in January 2020, altering the merit list and removing several previously selected candidates, including the appellants. In response, the affected candidates filed a writ petition in 2020 challenging this corrigendum and the re-evaluation process that led to it.
The Court stated that even if GPSC had the authority to re-evaluate — which it does not — it cannot carry out such actions after the results have been declared:
“Allowing re-evaluation after final results would leave the merit list in a constant state of flux, endangering the careers of many candidates.”
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It also highlighted that no law permits such a revision once the appointment process has reached the verification stage. The GPSC’s unilateral action disrupted the legal appointment process and undermined merit-based selection.
Appointments Ordered Without Retrospective Benefits
The Court directed the government to:
- Complete document verification for the five appellants.
- If found eligible, issue appointment and posting orders within six weeks.
- Ensure that no past service benefits are claimed by the appellants; seniority and other service benefits to start from the date of actual appointment.
“Appellants shall not claim any service benefit of past period. All service benefits, including seniority, shall be counted from the date of appointment orders.”
Case title: UMESHKUMAR PRATAPSINH PARMAR & ORS. v/s STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
