The Andhra Pradesh High Court has decided to reopen the hearing of appeal petitions challenging a single judge's order that confirmed irregularities in the evaluation of the Group I mains examination. The examination was conducted following a notification issued in 2018.
Court Seeks Clarifications, Forms Committee
Earlier, the High Court had reserved its orders after hearing arguments from all parties involved. However, the bench later sought clarifications on specific issues. This led to the formation of a committee headed by retired High Court judge K G Shankar. The committee's task was to verify whether the revaluation of answer sheets was conducted in Hailand or not.
After a thorough verification process, the committee submitted its report. The report confirmed that the revaluation was indeed performed at Hailand, as evidenced by the marks recorded on the OMR sheets.
Parties Agree to Reopen Case
Senior counsel C V Mohan Reddy, representing the successful candidates, informed the bench that they had filed an interlocutory application. This application sought to reopen the case and present the committee's report along with records submitted by the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) after the matters were initially reserved.
The HC bench, comprising Justices Battu Devanand and Hari Haranatha Sharma, sought opinions from all parties on this request. Advocate General Dammalapati Srinivas, appearing for APPSC, consented to the reopening. Similarly, senior counsel Jandhyala Ravi Shankar, representing the unsuccessful candidates, agreed. He further stated that his clients also intend to file additional petitions seeking a CBI probe into the matter.
Next Steps and Court Directives
Considering the unanimous submissions from all sides, the High Court recalled its earlier order of reserving the matter and allowed the plea to reopen the case. The bench issued a crucial clarification: all parties to the petition can obtain a certified copy of every document that was taken on record by the court. The registry was directed to facilitate this process.
The court has scheduled the further hearing of the matter for December 29. This development marks a significant step in the long-standing legal battle over the alleged irregularities in the prestigious state civil services examination.
