Delhi HC questions SSC order restricting post-exam paper discussions; seeks government response

The Delhi High Court has sought the response of the Union government and the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) on a petition challenging a recent notification. The notification restricts the discussion or circulation of SSC exam question papers after the exams have been conducted. The matter will be heard in November.

According to LiveLaw, a division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued notice on the plea filed by engineer Vikas Kumar Mishra through advocates Suresh Sisodia and Sushant Dogra.

The petition challenges the SSC notification dated September 8, which warns individuals, content creators, and social media platforms against analysing or sharing SSC question papers or their contents, citing penal provisions under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.

Bench questions validity of ban on post-exam discussions

During the hearing, the bench questioned the rationale behind such a prohibition. The Chief Justice observed that discussing question papers after an examination is a common practice and stated that such activity does not appear to fall within the scope of Section 3 of the 2024 Act.

“You cannot put such gag orders. What is that you cannot discuss question papers?” the court remarked, as reported by LiveLaw.

SSC notification challenged as unconstitutional

The petitioner argued that the restriction amounts to an unreasonable limitation on the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 of the Constitution. The plea also stated that a representation opposing the notification was submitted to the authorities on September 14, but no response was received.

“The said Notification has been passed contrary to the settled and established principles of law and therefore, deserves to be quashed. Further, the said notice directly seeks to infringe the basic fundamental right of speech and expression as enshrined under Article 19 of the Constitution of India as the same unreasonably restricts discussion of examination which has already been conducted by Respondent No. 2 and therefore the same deserved to be quashed and declared as unconstitutional in the interest of justice and equity,” the plea states as per LiveLaw report.

Plea seeks quashing of notification

Citing the provisions of the Public Examinations Act, the petitioner contended that discussions or analyses of papers after the conduct of examinations do not constitute “unfair means.”

The plea, therefore, seeks the quashing of the notification, asserting that it exceeds the intended scope of the law. At the court’s request, a counsel present accepted notice on behalf of the respondents.