Research › Search › Judgment

Jharkhand High Court · body

2023 DIGILAW 437 (JHR)

Ravi Shanker Keshri, son of Ganesh Prasad Keshri v. State of Jharkhand, through the Chief Secretary

2023-03-28

ANANDA SEN, SANJAYA KUMAR MISHRA

body2023
ORDER : (Ananda Sen, J.) 1. By filing this Letters Patent Appeal, the petitioner in W.P.(S) No.3104 of 2020, has assailed the order passed by learned Single Judge on 02.02.2022, whereby his writ petition was dismissed. 2. Counsel for the appellant-petitioner submits that the respondent No.3-Jharkhand Public Service Commission has wrongly evaluated the answer sheet of this petitioner as atleast one of his answers were not marked and if the said answer would have been marked, as the petitioner had correctly answered the said question, he could have come within the zone of consideration for appointment. He further submits that model answer keys of the examination were not published by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission, which is an illegality. Non-publishing of the model answer keys has prejudiced the petitioner as he could not raise any valid objection, if any, to the model answers. 3. Learned counsel for the Jharkhand Public Service Commission submitted that admittedly there exists no rules, which provides for re-evaluation of the answer sheets. In absence of any rules, answer sheets cannot be re-evaluated. So far as publication of model answer keys is concerned, he submits that question paper was of 200 marks, divided in several sections. Part ‘A’ consisted of subjective questions of 15 marks each and Part ‘B’ also was divided in two sections. Section 1 was subjective, wherein questions carried 10 marks each and Section 2 of Part ‘B’ only consisted of few multiple choice questions. Since the paper was a composite paper, where the majority of questions were subjective questions, there was no occasion to issue any model answer keys. 4. We have considered the order passed by learned Single Judge and have also gone through the writ petition and the memo of appeal. 5. The issue of re-evaluation of answer sheet is no more res-integra. The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in the case of Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission versus Mukesh Thakur and Another reported in (2010) 6 SCC 759 ; Ran Vijay Singh and Others versus State of Uttar Pradesh and Others reported in (2018) 2 SCC 357 ; and recently in the case of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Agra versus Devarsh Nath Gupta & Others reported in 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 131 has held that in absence of any provisions in the statute or statutory rules or regulations, the Court should not generally direct re-evaluation of answer sheets. B.R. Ambedkar University, Agra versus Devarsh Nath Gupta & Others reported in 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 131 has held that in absence of any provisions in the statute or statutory rules or regulations, the Court should not generally direct re-evaluation of answer sheets. In the case of Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences versus Dr. Yerra Trinadh & Others reported in 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1520 the Hon’ble Supreme Court has thoroughly disapproved calling for answer sheets for satisfying as to whether there was a need for re-evaluation or not. Admittedly, in the instant case, there is no statutory rule or regulations, which provides for re-evaluation of answer sheets of the appellant-writ petitioner by Jharkhand Public Service Commission. 6. So far as the issue relating to publishing of model answer key is concerned, we find that the question paper consisted of two parts – the first part exclusively consisted of subjective questions and the second part was further divided in two sections – first section was subjective whereas only the second section was objective. In the composite question paper the majority of questions were subjective. When the majority of questions were subjective, we feel that no illegality has been committed by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission in not publishing answer keys to the question paper. 7. All these facts and the principles of law have been correctly taken note of in the impugned order passed by learned Single Judge while dismissing the writ petition of the petitioner. Thus, we find no error in the impugned order dated 02.02.2022 passed by learned Single Judge in W.P.(S) No.3104 of 2020. This Letters Patent Appeal is, accordingly, dismissed.