Andhra Pradesh High Court Orders SIT for Group-1 Evaluation Probe

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has mandated the state government to establish a special investigation team (SIT) to address lapses identified in the evaluation of Group-1 examination answer scripts. This directive was issued on March 13, 2024, during a hearing of two petitions concerning alleged discrepancies in the evaluation process.

The division bench, comprising Justice Battu Devanand and Justice Hari Haranadha Sharma, has specified that the SIT should be led by an officer of at least the rank of additional Director General of Police (DGP). The court has instructed the advocate general to provide details regarding the SIT within three days to the registrar of the court.

In its ruling, the bench emphasized that the SIT must collaborate with scientific and forensic experts from a central forensic science laboratory located outside Andhra Pradesh. The investigation will focus on multiple aspects, including the integrity of answer scripts of all selected candidates, potential tampering, and verification of bar codes on answer sheets and original Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets used during evaluations in Vijayawada.

The court further ordered that the answer sheets of unselected candidates, who are parties to the ongoing writ petitions, should be examined with the same scrutiny applied to the selected candidates’ scripts. Additionally, the answer sheets of candidates ranked up to 100 below the last selected individual will also undergo similar examination processes.

The bench noted that any materials already collected by the SIT could be utilized in the ongoing investigation, highlighting the necessity of employing scientific methods to detect any tampering with original answer sheets. The SIT is required to submit its findings by March 16, 2024.

Concerns were raised during the hearing regarding the influence of selected candidates, who hold significant positions, on the investigation. Counsel for the unselected candidates pointed out that these individuals might manipulate information due to their official roles. In response, the court has directed the state government to reassign all selected candidates to non-focal posts until further orders are issued. The Chief Secretary is tasked with ensuring that necessary orders are implemented promptly and to report compliance to the registrar within a week.

This ruling underscores the court’s commitment to a transparent and thorough investigation into the evaluation process of the Group-1 examination, aiming to uphold the integrity of the assessment and address the concerns raised by candidates and the public alike.