Telangana HC dismisses petitions for postponing Group-I Mains exam

Hyderabad, Oct 18 : Clearing decks for the Telangana Public Service Commission Group-1 Main examination, the Telangana High Court on Friday dismissed two petitions challenging the order of its single judge bench, refusing to order postponement of the exam.

A division bench declined to pass orders to the Telangana Public Service Commission (TGSPSC) to postpone the examination, scheduled to begin on October 21.

The High Court has made biometric attendance mandatory for the candidates.

A single-judge bench on October 15 dismissed the petitions of some candidates for postponement of the exams.

Meanwhile, a section of the candidates continued their protest demanding the government to postpone the exams, citing the short time for preparation and demanding revision of a Government Order that tweaked the reservation policy.

Some candidates have also approached the Supreme Court, seeking direction to the Telangana government and the TGSPSC to defer the exams. The candidates demanding the postponement of exams argue that GO 29 will rearrange the prelims list upside down. About 22 cases challenging the GO are pending in the High Court. They say that the GO tweaked the reservation policy and this would limit the chances of candidates from reserved categories.

The Group-I Main exams to fill 563 posts in various departments are scheduled to be held from October 21 to 27.

Going ahead with the conduct of the examination, authorities reviewed preparations. Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari held a meeting with officials of various departments and directed them to make fool-proof arrangements. A total of 31,383 candidates will appear in the exam to be conducted at 46 centres in Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and Medchal Malkajgiri districts.

The candidates qualified for the Group-1 Mains examination out of around 3.02 lakh who appeared for the preliminary examination held in June. The Group-1 prelims have been marred by controversies over paper leaks and legal battles for not following the norms and irregularities in 2022 and 2023. The Chief Secretary directed officials to make necessary security arrangements around the exam centres to prevent any irregularities or untoward incidents. TGSPSC Chairman Mahender Reddy said that since Group-I Mains are being held for the first time since 2011, the officials should take all precautions to ensure smooth conduct of the exam.