Delhi HC Dismisses Application Challenging UPSC’s DAF for Mains Exam

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed an application challenging the Detailed Application Form (DAF) issued by the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) on July 10 for the Civil Services (Main) Examination 2023.

A bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh dismissed the application filed by several civil services aspirants who were challenging the UPSC’s decision to publish the answer key of the prelims examination only after the final result is declared.

While the counsel representing the aspirants emphasized the significance of the UPSC examination, the court made an oral remark stating that the exam is meant for “talented people” and not for those filing writ petitions.

The court had requested the UPSC to submit its preliminary objections in the case. However, it declined to issue a notice on the plea and scheduled the next hearing for July 26.

In their urgent application, the aspirants claimed that the UPSC, with the intention to undermine the legal process and justice, arbitrarily released the DAF for the mains examination, thereby making their plea before the court ineffective.

The plea, filed by Advocate Rajeev Kumar Dubey on behalf of 17 civil services aspirants, challenges the press note issued by the UPSC on June 12. The press note stated that the answer key for the prelims examination would only be published after the entire process is completed.

“Not providing to the students, the answer key of an exam they have appeared for, not considering the representations of the candidates despite a particular time window being provided for the same, and, asking questions, which are disproportionately vague, testing candidates’ ability to answer only on the basis of guesswork, is not only arbitrary but defies all principles of fairness, logic and rationality,” the plea submitted.