NILOTHPAL SHANKAR Vs. UTTARAKHAND PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner has approached this Court, seeking the following reliefs:

(2.) Briefly put, the case of the petitioners is as follows: On 7/5/2025, the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission issued an advertisement inviting applications for the Uttarakhand Combined State Civil/Upper Subordinate Services Examination, 2025. The petitioners applied pursuant to the said advertisement and participated in the preliminary examination. After the preliminary examination, the respondent-Commission uploaded the provisional answer key on its official website and invited objections from the candidates. Subsequently, an amended provisional answer key was also published by the Commission. According to the petitioners, they attempted Question No. 49 and 126 of the Question Booklet Series-A. The petitioners gave Option 'D' for Question No. 49 and Option 'A' for Question No. 126. After the Preliminary Examination, the Selecting Body published the Provisional Answer Key on 4/7/2025 on its website, wherein the Selecting Body also gave the same options as exercised by the petitioners as correct answer key for the said questions. The Selecting Body invited objections on the Provisional Answer Key published on 4/7/2025. Selecting Body invited objections from the candidates on the questions as well as on the answer key. Since the options exercised by the petitioners in respect of Question Nos. 49 and 126 of Booklet Series-A was the same as was given by the Selecting Body, therefore, the petitioners did not submit any objection on the answer key published by the Selecting Body. After deciding the objections received against the Provisional Answer Key, on the basis of the opinion of the subject expert, the Selecting Body published the Amended Answer Key on 3/9/2025. In the Amended Answer Key, the Selecting Body detailed the option 'A' as correct answer key for Question No.49, however, Question No. 126 of Booklet Series-A was deleted. On 8/10/2025, the Selecting Body published the Result of the Preliminary Examination, whereby the candidates were declared qualified for appearing in the Mains Examination of the Upper Subordinate Service Examination-2025. It is submitted that the Roll Number of the petitioners did not figure in the result of the preliminary examination. Question No. 49 of Set 'A' of General Studies Paper reads as under:

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the action of the respondent-Selecting Body in deleting Question No. 126 of Booklet Series-A from the Final Answer Key is manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, and violative of the mandate enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The deletion of the said questions has been effected without any cogent reasons, rational basis, or supporting documentary evidence on record, thereby rendering the entire exercise unsustainable in law. He further submits that Health register, Family register, Birth-death registration register and Grant register all are maintained by the Panchayats in Uttarakhand, therefore, the Option 'A'- Health register, is not maintained by Gram Panchayat in the State of Uttarakhand is not a correct answer. The newly inserted Sec. 35-A of Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act, 2016 specifically provides that the women member shall be appointed as Chairman in the Education Committee and Health and Welfare Committee of Gram Panchayat, as may be prescribed in the Rules. He submits that thus, it is apparently clear that it is a statutory requirement that Health and Welfare Committee is constituted at Gram Panchayat level. It is further submitted that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India has issued the guidelines for Village Health and Sanitation Committees, Sub Centers, PHCs and CHCs. The Guidelines have been issued for implementation of National Rural Health Mission as approved by Central Govt. The Guidelines require constitution of Village Health and Sanitation Committee out of which 50% members should be women. The Committee is required to operate a Bank Account with the joint signature of Health Worker/ Anganwadi Worker and Chairman of Village Health and Sanitation Committee. In order to ensure the accountability of the Committee, the Committee is required to maintain the Register containing complete details of activities undertaken, expenditure incurred and the said register has to be periodically reviewed by ANM/ Sarpanch. He argued that in absence of any rational justification or record-based reasoning for such deletion, the impugned action of the Selecting Body is ex facie arbitrary, unfair, and violative of the principles of natural justice, warranting interference by this Court in exercise of its power of judicial review.