ARCHANA KUMARI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been filed for issuance of direction upon the respondent-UPSC to provide copy of question paper as well as evaluated answer sheet to the petitioner with respect to the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination - 2015 held by the Union Public Service Commission on 23/8/2015.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner appeared in the aforesaid examination, however, she was declared unsuccessful in the same. Thereafter, she represented the respondent authorities to provide a copy of her evaluated answer sheet, however, the same was not provided. She also filed an application under Right to Information Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act, 2005"), for providing her the evaluated answer sheet, however, the same was not furnished to her by the Central Public Information Officer, UPSC, New Delhi. The petitioner also preferred first appeal under the provisions of the Act, 2005, however, the answer sheet was not made available to her.

(3.) Mr. Faizur Rahman, learned counsel for the respondent- UPSC, submits that the petitioner filed an application under the Act, 2005 to the Central Public Information Officer, UPSC, New Delhi on 5/6/2017 seeking evaluated copy of the answer sheet of the said examination. She was, however, informed by the Central Public Information Officer vide letter dtd. 10/7/2017 that the retention period of answer sheets of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination - 2015 had already lapsed and were accordingly destroyed and, therefore, the same cannot be made available to her.