TV
The Supreme Court strongly criticised the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) on Friday for refusing to admit a serious error in evaluating a judicial service exam answer sheet.
As reported by Bar and Bench, a bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Vijay Bishnoi dismissed the OPSC's appeal, challenging an Orissa High Court order directing the Commission to pay Rs 1 lakh compensation to candidate Jyotirmayee Dutta.
The Apex court upheld the HC’s order and ensured that the OPSC pay the compensation by stating that such institutional failures damage public trust.
Judges Quote ‘Blunders’ and ‘Arrogant Elements’
Justice Surya Kant delivered sharp remarks during the hearing, stating, "You (OPSC), as an examination body, commit these kinds of blunders; you should be taken to task. How will the young generation have faith and trust in you?"
Justice Kant further remarked, "This Commission is adamant. Some arrogant elements sitting there. You are still adamant, telling that there is no mistake … Commission thinks of itself too high."
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The 2022 Exam Error
This case began with the September 2022 Odisha Judicial Service (OJS) Examination for Civil Judge recruitment.
Candidate Jyotirmayee Dutta took the written test, and her final score fell just 5 marks short of the viva voce (interview) cut-off.
Dutta later discovered a critical error in which evaluators had completely overlooked one answer in her Law of Property paper. She also suspected under-marking in other answers. Consequently, she petitioned the Orissa High Court seeking re-evaluation.
Independent Probe Confirms Mistake
Responding to Dutta's plea, the High Court ordered a rare independent assessment. Experts from three reputed Odisha universities reviewed her answer script and their investigation confirmed the lapse.
OPSC evaluators had indeed failed to evaluate one complete answer, which carried significant marks. However, even after adding these marks, Dutta remained 2 marks below the revised viva voce cut-off, and she still could not qualify for the interview stage.
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High Court Orders Compensation
Despite Dutta not qualifying, the High Court deemed the OPSC's error unacceptable. It emphasised the immense stakes of competitive exams.
The Court stressed that evaluation processes must meet the highest standards and found OPSC's quality control mechanisms deficient. Therefore, the High Court directed the OPSC to pay Dutta Rs 1 lakh in compensation for the distress and costs caused by the evaluation failure.
The Supreme Court dismissed the OPSC's appeal against the compensation order, reinforcing that exam bodies must be held accountable for such errors.
