Telangana High Court Cancels Group 1 Mains Results: What’s Next for Aspirants?
In a big win for thousands of job seekers in Telangana, the High Court has just thrown out the results of the Group 1 Mains exam. This decision comes after candidates raised serious concerns about irregularities in how the exam happened and how answer sheets were checked. The court has now ordered a fresh look at all the answer scripts, shaking up the entire process.
Justice Namavarapu Rajeswara Rao led the single-judge bench that made this call. He scrapped the overall ranking list and the names of selected candidates. The ruling arrived on Tuesday, following petitions from unhappy aspirants who pointed fingers at flaws in the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) handling of the Group 1 Mains examination.
Back in October 2024, around 30,000 students sat for the Group 1 Mains exams from October 21 to 27. TSPSC announced the results on March 10, 2025, and soon after, released the ranking list and selected candidates. But now, everything’s on hold. The court has given TSPSC eight months to re-evaluate the answer sheets and come up with new results. If they don’t get it done, the whole Mains exam gets canceled, and everyone who cleared the Prelims will have to retake it.
Why did the court step in? They found that TSPSC didn’t follow key Supreme Court guidelines from the Sanjay Singh vs UPSC case. Instead of sticking to those rules, the evaluation process had issues. The judge also raised eyebrows over using evaluators from outside Telangana who might not fully understand Telugu scripts. During hearings, the court grilled TSPSC on why they brought in non-local experts for papers written in the regional language.
To fix this, the court wants re-evaluation done through a ‘moderation’ system—a standard way to ensure fairness in competitive exams like Group 1. This method helps balance scores and spot any mistakes in marking.
The Group 1 exams aim to fill 563 top government jobs in various state departments. It’s a huge deal for young people dreaming of stable careers. Out of about 3.02 lakh who took the Prelims in June 2024, 31,383 made it to the Mains. This was the first time since Telangana became a state in 2014 that these Mains exams happened—the last ones were way back in 2011.
But the road hasn’t been smooth. The entire TSPSC Group 1 process faced backlash over paper leaks in 2022 and 2023, plus fights in court about not following rules. There was even drama over changing reservation policies via a government order, though the High Court and Supreme Court didn’t delay the exams. Conducting these competitive exams was a major promise from the Congress party during the 2023 Assembly elections, but critics say the government rushed it and messed up.
BRS leader and former Minister T Harish Rao didn’t hold back in his reaction. He called the court’s order a "slap in the face" for the state government led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Harish Rao said doubts about exam centers, hall tickets, results, and even malpractices have been swirling around. "You’re playing with students’ lives by running flawed exams," he blasted. He demanded answers from the CM and accused the Congress government of empty promises and zero competence in handling TSPSC exams properly.
As Telangana job aspirants wait anxiously, this ruling could mean a fairer shot for everyone. Will TSPSC deliver on the re-evaluation deadline? Stay tuned as this Group 1 controversy unfolds—it’s a reminder of how important transparency is in competitive exams for government jobs.
