Letter of a Grieved Student to the Honourable SC

To

The Honourable Supreme Court of India

New Delhi

India

Subject: Letter bringing to the notice of Honourable Supreme Court, where the fundamental rights of a group of citizens of India have been infringed upon, an apparent wrong done, with a plea that this letter be treated as a PIL, and demanding the restoration of the fundamental rights to the affected group of the citizens of India, as given under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution.

Your Honours

I will now take your permission to state the facts of the case:

1.    I along with 5, 95, 000 other candidates had appeared in the Preliminary examination for civil services conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in May 2010. The issued roll numbers were more than the number of candidates applied.

2.    The result for the same exam was declared on August 19 and I was declared unsuccessful. Incidentally, I had qualified the same exam last year and this was my fourth and last attempt, as per requisites of UPSC.

3.    The analysis of the result sheet available on the website of UPSC, revealed a startling fact:

Lumps of selected roll numbers in the result: There is huge variation in the distribution of selected roll numbers in the wholesome roll number list. Out of the first 1 lakh roll numbers there are 6300 selected candidates, then from rest of 4.5 lakh roll numbers only 6000 selections which is against the laws of probability distribution and implies that merit is concentrated in early applicants only! There are more pronounced similar kind of variations that from a particular thousand the selection ratio is as high as 30% and at some thousand as low as 0.0%.

4.    UPSC’s silence on the RTI filed by students and a static answer always, “The matter is under subjudice”.

Conclusion:

• It is most unfair, by any means, statistical or otherwise, to assume that almost fifty percent of all hardworking, sincere and deserving candidates applied within first one lakh of allotted roll numbers.
• The action of concerned administrative officials is prima facie unreasonable because there is no discernable principle to justify it.
• The burden must be shifted to Union Public Service Commission to prove that impugned decision is an informed and just action not otherwise.

Impact of the results of Preliminary examination 2010 on our fundamental rights;

·        Right to Equality: “The state shall not deny any person equality before law or the equal protection of law within the territory of India. (Article 14)

In this case the right to equality of treatment in equal circumstances (the examination) prima facie has been denied.

·        There prima facie doesn’t appear to be any reasonable basis of classification of successful and unsuccessful candidates.

·        The result fails itself on two tests:

o   The classification of students as mentioned above isn’t found on any intelligent differentia which distinguishes these, that are grouped together from other and

o   The differentia doesn’t prima facie have a rational relation to the object sought in selection of eligible candidates for the civil services

·        The guarantee of equal protection applies against substantive and procedural laws.

·        The decision making should be fair, transparent and open.

·        The guarantee of equal protection includes absence of any arbitrary discrimination by the laws themselves or the matter of their administration.

·        Here prima facie the rules have been applied with an unequal hand.

·        Equality of opportunity in the matter of public employment. (Article 16)

The true impact of equality of opportunity is not simply a matter of legal equality. Its existence depends not merely on the absence of disabilities but on the presence of abilities and opportunity of excellence in each cadre/grade as equality of opportunity, meaning equality between the members of same class of employees and not between that of separate independent classes. This right prima facie has also been denied.

5.    Inability to approach the court: My father has since long retired and I do part time jobs and tuitions to enable myself to live in Delhi and appear for the exams. I do not have the economic means required to hire lawyers and approach the court.

6.    Urgency of the matter: Mains examinations for this year are slated to begin from October 29. Delay in giving relief in the said matter may cause irreparable and irreversible harm to many eligible and deserving students due to passage of time.

In India, the honourable Supreme Court is the last refuge of downtrodden, economically disadvantaged and helpless. Many a times, relief has been granted on the basis of letters. I trust my letter to this institute of justice in India, will not go in vain.

Thank You

Yours faithfully

XYZ

The Case of Massive Corruption

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) hosts an annual exam for selection to Government services (Indian Administrative Services) of topmost cadre. This exam is considered to be one of the most reputed exams in the nation, which includes a three stage selection process: Prelims, Mains and Interview.

Since long candidates have witnessed some up and downs and the lack of clarity of criteria for the interview process, but it is for the first time that the wanton UPSC unbothered of our Fundamental Rights, RTI and other judicial empowerment measures has declared the Prelims’ result full of fallacies.

The irony is, the website www.upsc.gov.in doesn’t tell the candidate his marks in the exam or cut off, rather it believes in the acceptance of lottery system by answering “Sorry! Try again” or “Congrats” as an answer to the marks query of the students.

Every year around 500, 000 graduates write this prestigious exam. A candidate is provided with four attempts to clear prelims, mains and interview in one row. There are always many who have devoted more than five years for the preparation of the exam and after attempting a good many answers right, they hope for a positive result. Regrettably, this time the students with 40-55 attempted right answers are in for the next stage and the ones with 70-95 correct are sitting out and just speculating what went wrong.

There could be two reasons for such a malignancy:

1. Motive-based selection/Corruption

2. Any computing error (as Set D students have suffered most)

The solution is simple won’t even take much of UPSC to put in place:

1.    Putting a stay on the Mains Exam that start from October 28, until the results of the Prelims exam are re-examined, so that the undeserving candidates gone to the next stage are not finally selected.

2.    Publishing the model answers of the test held on May 23, 2010.

3.    Declaring the cut-off marks for all subjects and General Studies (GS).

4.    Disclosing the marks of candidates vis a vis in GS and in Optional subject that they can make out for what margin they could or couldn’t make through.

5.    Setting up of a re-evaluation process in place for those who are doubtful of the scores obtained can get their scores rechecked. Similar process was conducted in 1986 and 1998.

6.    Lastly, if it cannot do any of the above, considering the massive angst at the mishandling of affairs it should cancel the previous exam and conduct a new one that takes into consideration the transparency fact to maintain the sanctity of the exam.

 What makes us reach the conclusion UPSC has been corrupt in Prelims 2010:

1. Lumps of selected roll numbers in the result: In the result available on UPSC website, there is huge variation in the distribution of selected roll numbers in the wholesome roll number list. Out of the first 1 lakh roll numbers there are 6300 selected candidates, then from rest of 4.5 lakh roll numbers only 6200 selections which is against the laws of probability distribution. There are more pronounced similar kind of variations that from a particular thousand the selection ratio is as high as 30% and from some thousand as low as 0%. It can be doubted that there could have been regional biasness or secret termination of selected test centres.
2. More number of issued roll numbers than the number of candidates who have applied: This is hilarious and equally dubious too. How could more number of students write exam than the figure that applied? (Proof: Document issued under RTI by UPSC)
3. Declaration of result of exam held on May 23 on August 19: In the era of speedy processing of results by computer checked OMR sheets three months time is enough to generate scepticism about it: Was this much time in the processing of result was a call for bribe in between or for seeking adjustment in the actual result!! Nowhere as much as a three month time is taken for preparation of an OMR sheet based result.
4. Some students who didn’t attend the exam, instead of being shown as absent are either selected or have been shown as failed.
5. Many of those students who could reach the interview stage in the last attempt haven’t been able to make through even to Prelims this time.
6. Contrary to prior announcement of declaration of 17000 of successful candidates, the list mentions only about 12500 selections for Mains in all.
7. Last but not the least, UPSC's Response: Its silence, inaction on the issue, avoidance of RTIs filed by the candidates by answering that the matter is under subjudice and taking advantage of the cumbersome legal process and limited resources of the student petitioners. It is worth mentioning, that there are 84 cases pending in various high courts against the tainted UPSC.

The student community in the capital has tried to give UPSC a wakeup call by demonstrating in front of UPSC Bhavan, Candle Light March at India Gate and sitting on indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, but UPSC has totally ignored it so far. The judicial process is on since 2006 and again some new writs will be put into process but the safeguard of career of Indian youth shouldn’t come 25 years later as it was remittance to Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims.

UPSC aspirants are graduates, aged between 21 to 31 years, bachelors and in the most susceptible phase for turning towards rebel groups to express their outburst against the system.

So this is a call to the society and the ideals of society to protect the youth and come forward to ensure fair practice in the most coveted exam of government of India.

Tele-contact Person: Mr. Ajay Mishra
Phone: 9717581280




E-contact Person: Ms. Shivani
E-mail: pad.upsc@gmail.com

Candle Light March @ India Gate, August 23

On Hunger Strike @ Jantar Mantar since Sept. 4

Students Protesting @ UPSC Bhavan, Sept 8

List of Cases in Various Courts Pending against UPSC