Delhi High Court questions SSC for gag on discussing exam papers

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) on a plea challenging the order banning any discussion on SSC question papers by individuals and social media content creators.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela quizzed the SSC for its decision and remarked that the the selection body cannot place such a gag on the discussion of exam papers.

"You can’t put such a gag order. What is this? You can’t discuss an exam paper? How can you issue such a notification? After coming out of the examination hall, the first thing, at least we used to do in our days, was to discuss the paper," the Court remarked.

Therefore, the Court directed the Commission to file its response in three weeks.

The SSC conducts examinations to recruit staff for various Group B (non-gazetted) and Group C (non-technical) posts in the Indian government and its ministries and departments. Lakhs of students appear for the SSC exam each year.

The High Court today was dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Vikas Kumar Mishra.

In his plea, Mishra stated that the SSC issued a notice on September 8 using its powers under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, warning action against content creators, social media platforms and individuals who discuss, analyse or disseminate SSC exam question papers or its contents in any manner.

"Further, while prohibiting the acts of discussion, analysis and dissemination of examination question paper, the aforesaid notice bearing file no. HQ- IT018/4/2024-IT (E-10517) dated 08.09.2025 issued by Respondent No. 2 Commission further clarified that any violation of the said notice shall invite penal action under the provisions of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 in addition to the other applicable laws," the plea said.

Mishra argued that the notice seeks to impose unreasonable restrictions on the discussion, analysis and dissemination of question papers of exams conducted by the SSC.

He contended that the action is illegal, arbitrary and perverse and deserves to be quashed since it violates students' and the public's right to freedom of speech.

"The said Notification has been passed contrary to the settled and established principles of law and therefore, deserves to be quashed. Further, the said notice directly seeks to infringe the basic fundamental right of speech and expression as enshrined under Article 19 of the Constitution of India as the same unreasonably restricts discussion of examination which has already been conducted by Respondent No. 2 (SSC)," the plea stated.

The PIL was filed through advocates Suresh Sisodia and Sushant Dogra.