Candidates selected for Telangana Group 1 services received major relief on Friday as the High Court set aside the earlier order passed by a single judge that had cancelled the general ranking list and directed re-evaluation of the main examination answer scripts. The Chief Justice-led division bench overturned the single judge’s verdict, bringing long-awaited clarity to the recruitment process. With this decision, the uncertainty surrounding the appointments has finally ended, offering relief to hundreds of candidates. The state government has already issued appointment orders to 562 selected candidates.
The Telangana Public Service Commission issued the Group 1 notification in February 2024 to fill 563 posts. The main examinations were conducted from October 21 to October 27 in 2024. On March 30, the commission released the marks of 21,085 candidates who appeared for all papers, including the qualifying English paper and the six main papers.
Soon after the results were announced, several candidates approached the High Court, alleging irregularities in the evaluation of answer scripts and the allotment of examination centres. They also claimed that candidates who wrote the examination in Telugu medium were subjected to unfair treatment. During the hearings, the petitioners argued that evaluators lacked an adequate understanding of Telangana history, which affected the fair allocation of marks. The commission, however, maintained that all answer scripts were evaluated strictly by subject experts.
After detailed hearings, the single judge bench directed the commission to re-evaluate the answer scripts or conduct the examination again. This order caused widespread concern among candidates who had already secured selection and were awaiting appointments. Challenging the single judge ruling, the Telangana Public Service Commission and the selected candidates filed appeals before the division bench. The High Court later stayed the implementation of the single judge order, allowing the commission to proceed with final selections subject to the outcome of the case.
After reviewing all arguments, the division bench ruled in favour of the commission and the selected candidates. The court held that there was no need for re-evaluation or a fresh examination and found no grounds to interfere with the recruitment process. By setting aside the single judge order, the bench cleared the final legal hurdle that had stalled the appointments for several months.
This recruitment drive is considered significant as it marks the first time Group 1 appointments have been completed after the formation of Telangana state. With the High Court verdict, the prolonged legal battle has come to an end, and the careers of selected candidates are now on stable ground.
