UP PSC mains exam to be held on September 28, 29 after Allahabad High Court stays directive to postpone

A Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday gave green signal to conduct the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UP PSC) mains exam on September 28 and 29 [State v Rahul Maurya & Ors].

A Division Bench of Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Anish Gupta stayed an order passed by a single-judge yesterday postponing the exam.

However, the Court today added that the results of the exam shall not be published or announced until the next date of hearing of the matter in October.

The order today was passed after matter was mentioned by Senior Advocate Anoop Trivedi.

The case concerns recruitment to various government posts including Assistant Engineer (Civil/Mechanical), District Horticulture Officer, Food Processing Officer and Senior Technical Assistants.

On September 25 (Thursday), single-judge Justice Ajit Kumar ordered that the UP PSC mains exam, held as part of the process to recruit to these posts, be postponed until a fresh merit list of the preliminary examination is prepared.

The order was passed on petitions by several candidates who questioned the manner in which the merit list for the preliminary exams were prepared.

They pointed out that the May 2025 merit list shortlisted only 7,358 candidates for 609 advertised posts (about 12 times the advertised posts), whereas the recruitment advertisement stated that 15 times the advertised posts would be shortlisted at the preliminary exam stage.

Some petitioners from reserved category communities also complained that they were left out from the unreserved/ open category in the merit list, even though they scored higher than those in the open category.

The single-judge found force in their argument. He held that any reserved category candidate who performs as well as or better than an unreserved category candidate should automatically be considered under the unreserved or open category.

The single-judge proceeded to grant relief to the aggrieved candidates.

"All these petitions succeed and are allowed to the extent that respondent U.P. Public Service Commission shall re-draw the merit list of the preliminary examination result of suitable candidates to qualify for next stage of final examination for the purposes of selection and appointment against vacancies advertised vide advertisement No. A-3/E-1/2024 dated 10.4.2024 and thereafter only Commission shall be holding main examination on the basis of such revised preliminary examination result," the single-judge ordered.

This directive came to be challenged before the High Court's Division Bench.

The single-judge directive was stayed today, and the mains exams allowed to proceed albeit with a condition that its results cannot be published for now.

[Read single judge order]