Supreme Court rules High Court overstepped in re-evaluating exam answer sheets

The core issue was whether the High Court exceeded its jurisdiction by interfering with academic decisions regarding question papers and answer keys.

Who it concerns: Appellants: U.P. Public Service Commission (through its Chairman) and another. Respondents: Sunil Kumar Singh and others. Bench: Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu.

What the court decided

• The Supreme Court set aside the impugned order of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad dated 9th December, 2016.
• The Civil Appeal No. 4970 of 2017 is allowed.
• The Court noted that the operation of the High Court's order had been stayed by the Supreme Court on 7th April, 2017, and thus the directions were not implemented.

Also in the document

• The Court held that the High Court exceeded the jurisdiction of a judicial review court by interfering with the decision of experts in the academic field.
• The Court observed that the respondents did not appear for the hearing, presuming they had lost interest in the matter after nine years.
• The Court cited the principle from 'Ran Vijay Singh vs. State of Uttar Pradesh' that courts should presume the correctness of key answers and not re-evaluate answer sheets as they lack academic expertise.