In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea challenging the validity of the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) held as part of the Civil Services Examination 2023. The petitioners, a group of civil services aspirants, had claimed that a substantial number of questions in the CSAT were beyond the scope of the prescribed syllabus. However, the court, referring to multiple judgments of the Supreme Court, maintained that it cannot intervene in the competitive selection process based solely on candidates' objections to the question paper or syllabus.
The division bench consisting of Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice Anoop Kumar Mendirattura passed the order on August 22. The bench highlighted that the Tribunal had rightly observed that legal authorities prohibit judicial bodies from interfering with competitive selection processes merely on the grounds of candidates' objections to the question paper or syllabus. This stance was reinforced by the fact that the candidates had voluntarily participated in the examination despite their reservations.
The petitioners' contention centered on the General Studies Paper-II, commonly referred to as the CSAT. This paper constitutes one of the two papers in the preliminary examination of the Civil Services Examination. The aspirants argued that a considerable number of questions in the CSAT were not aligned with the officially notified syllabus for the examination.
In their ruling, the high court emphasized its reluctance to second-guess the judgment of the expert panel responsible for formulating the question paper. The court further stated that it lacked the authority to re-evaluate the relative merits of individual questions. The decision underscores the court's trust in the examination process and its commitment to maintain the integrity of competitive selection procedures.
The verdict is expected to have far-reaching implications for future challenges to examination papers and syllabi in competitive tests. As the civil services examination is considered one of the most prestigious and rigorous tests in the country, this ruling reaffirms the significance of adhering to established selection procedures while also upholding the candidates' responsibility in participating voluntarily in the examination process.
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