Hyderabad: Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao of the Telangana High Court on Thursday issued a significant interim order regarding the Group-I recruitment process in Telangana, directing the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TGPSC) to halt the issuance of appointment letters to provisionally selected candidates. However, the court clarified that the process of certificate verification for these candidates can continue as scheduled. This directive came as the court heard petitions filed by a number of Group-I aspirants who have raised serious concerns about alleged irregularities in the evaluation of their mains examination answer scripts.
The petitioners have pleaded for either a re-evaluation of their answer sheets or a complete re-conduct of the mains examination, arguing that the valuation process was flawed and violated the established rules and regulations set forth by the TGPSC. While the TGPSC, represented by its standing counsel PS Rajasekhar, strongly opposed any stay on the recruitment process, Justice Rajeshwar Rao deemed it necessary to intervene, at least temporarily, regarding the issuance of appointment letters. The court observed that this interim measure is essential to ensure the integrity of the selection process and to safeguard the interests of all parties involved, pending a thorough examination of the allegations raised.
With the said direction, the court adjourned the matter to April 28. The TSPSC may continue with certificate verification, which is expected to conclude by April 22. The writ petition was filed by Matta Paramesh, a businessman from Yadadri-Bhongir district, along with 19 others, who alleged discrepancies in the evaluation process and argued that the results did not reflect a fair assessment. They requested judicial oversight through a court-monitored or independent inquiry, and the issuance of a revised ranking list following re-evaluation or re-examination.
Senior Counsel B Rachna Reddy, representing the petitioners, argued that the lapses were serious enough to justify a stay on further recruitment proceedings. However, Counsel Rajasekhar maintained that the Mains examination was "conducted in a fair and transparent manner." He urged the court to issue its judgment by April 21, pointing out that the verification of certificates concludes on April 22 and appointments are scheduled to begin on April 30.
Justice Rajeshwara Rao, citing personal commitments, said he would be unavailable on April 21. He therefore directed the state and the TSPSC to suspend the appointment process until further orders. The case will next be heard on April 28.
The latest stay order adds to a series of delays in filling Group-1 posts in Telangana. In 2022, the recruitment process was derailed under the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government when the October examinations were cancelled due to a question paper leak. A fresh attempt in 2023 also faltered after errors were found in both the question papers and Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets. Although the Mains were eventually conducted in 2024, protests soon followed over Government Order (GO) 29, with aspirants alleging that the revised rules undermined reservations.
GO 29 amended a clause in the Pattern of Examination laid out in GO 55, which governed the 2022 recruitment. GO 55 had stipulated a 1:50 vacancies-to-candidates ratio for admission to the Mains, while requiring adherence to reservation rules under General Rules 22 and 22A of the Telangana State and Subordinate Services Rules (1996). While GO 29 retained the 1:50 clause, it modified the language on how to address shortfalls in reserved categories: "Shortfall in respect of candidates in reserved categories as laid down in rules 22 and 22A of the Telangana State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1996, action shall be taken to include such number of candidates from the merit list beyond a 1:50 ratio, as required to meet the shortfall in the respective categories."
The implication here is that if there was a shortfall of candidates deserving of reservation, the government could fill the vacancies from the merit list. Some aspirants believe this undercuts the constitutional ideal of reservations by providing an unfair advantage to more privileged communities in the merit lists.
