Delhi High Court dismisses challenge to Delhi Judicial Service prelims answer key

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has dismissed petitions challenging the final answer key of the Delhi Judicial Service Preliminary Examination 2022 held earlier this year. The order was passed by a bench of Justices Vibhu Bakhru and Amit Mahajan on petitions by certain unsuccessful candidates who were not shortlisted for the Delhi Judicial Service Mains Examination as they failed to secure the required threshold marks.

“The petitions are dismissed. The pending applications are also disposed of,” the court said in its order passed on June 1. The petitioner claimed that if they were awarded the marks in respect of certain questions for the “most appropriate answers that were evaluated otherwise”, they would clear the benchmark. They also contended that certain questions were erroneous and therefore, all candidates must be granted marks for the same.

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The court said that in the present case, the high court administration followed the procedure of inviting objections and the petitioners' grievances were “duly considered by sufficiently qualified persons (in fact, a committee of Judges of this Court)” before the answer key was published. It added that there is no allegation of any malice or lack of bona fide and that merely because some answers or questions are found to be inapt, the same would not warrant judicial intervention.

“The petitioners, essentially, seek a re-appraisal of the decision on merits. This Court is of the view that this is impermissible except on limited grounds. It is also material to note that the questions relate to the subject of law and there is always a possibility for the parties to debate the same,” the court said. The petitioners had appeared for the Delhi Judicial Service Preliminary Examination on April 24 and the answer key was released later that month.