UPSC aspirants challenge provisional answers to 27 Civil Services prelims questions

At least 27 questions in this year’s Union Public Service Commission Civil Services preliminary examination have been challenged by candidates who allege that the provisional answer key contains incorrect, ambiguous or multiple possible answers. The disputes cover questions from both the general studies and aptitude papers. Two groups of aspirants have approached the Central Administrative Tribunal: one group of four candidates has challenged eight questions, while another group of 63 has challenged 27, including the eight in the first petition.

The Tribunal issued notice to the UPSC on September 9. The two cases are due to be heard together on October 8. The preliminary examination was held on May 24, and the provisional answer key was uploaded three days later.

Candidates were informed in June whether they had qualified for the Mains examination, which was held in August. The petitioners say some candidates missed the Mains cut-off by only a few marks. They argue that a disputed answer can determine whether a candidate progresses, potentially costing a year of preparation and, for people at their final attempt, ending their opportunity to qualify.

One contested question concerned Grand Slam tennis tournaments. The aspirants said the accepted answer omitted a ranking threshold that was expressly set out in the tournaments’ own rulebook. Another involved the Zero FIR procedure under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

Candidates alleged that the Hindi version of the Zero FIR question used a term closer to “investigation”, while the English version referred to a “preliminary inquiry”. They said the legally correct response therefore depended on which language a candidate read. At least four disputed questions concerned the Rigvedic period.

In one, candidates questioned references to “ashma chakra” and “ahava” in relation to drawing water. They said the Ministry of Culture described “ahava” as a trough, while another part of the question conflicted with information on the National Council of Museums’ website. They argued that the answer key should meet a high standard of precision when testing specific factual distinctions.