UPSC Civil Services(Prelims) Answer Key 2023 can be downloaded from the official website – upsc.gov.in and https://upsconline.nic.in/.
UPSC CSE(Civil Services) Prelims Answer Key 2023: Bringing a sigh of relief for the UPSC aspirants after a long court battle, the Delhi High Court(HC) on Wednesday agreed to examine a petition by 17 unsuccessful UPSC aspirants seeking publication of the answer key of preliminary civil services examination held earlier this year. As per the news agency PTI report, Justice Chandra Dhari Singh rejected UPSC’s contention that the petition was not maintainable before the high court, saying the matter entails adjudication of legal and fundamental rights of the candidates, including those concerning fair play, legitimate expectation and the right to know.
To recall our readers, the petitioners, who failed to secure the qualifying marks in the preliminary examination, assailed a June press note issued by the UPSC, which said the answer key would be declared only after the declaration of the final result.
What Did UPSC Say in its Press Note? Check the UPSC Statement Here
“Candidates are also informed that marks, cut off marks and answer keys of CS (P) Examination, 2023 will be uploaded on the Commission’s website i.e. https://upsc.gov.in only after the entire process of the Civil Services Examination, 2023 is over i.e. after the declaration of final result,” UPSC in an official notification dated June 12, 2023.
UPSC CSE(Civil Services) Prelims Answer Key 2023: Delhi Court Orders
“The claims of the petitioners prima facie pertain to the concerns surrounding the facets of fair play and right to know as well as the fundamental rights of the candidates and as such would require this Court to test the same by delving into the domain of administrative law and constitutional provisions,” the court said in its order, PTI reported.
List for arguments on merits on September 26, 2023
“Where the enforcement and protection of fundamental rights or any rights of a person is sought, this court cannot look the other way…Accordingly, the petition stands admitted. List for arguments on merits on 26th September 2023,” the court stated. The Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) had opposed the maintainability of the petition on the ground that only the Central Administrative Tribunal(CAT) has the power to deal with issues related to recruitment by the Commission. The court, which had reserved its order on this aspect last month, concluded that whether the UPSC could be directed to release the answer key did not fall within the scope of “recruitment” of civil servants so as to invoke the exclusive jurisdiction of the Central Administrative Tribunal.
When talking about CSAT, let us remind you that in June, a section of the 2023 IAS candidates challenged the qualifying Part II Civil Services Aptitude Test(CSAT) exam held by the Commission on May 28, alleging that the difficulty level of the questions was similar to those asked in CAT and IIT JEE examinations, and have asked the Central Administrative Tribunal to direct the UPSC “to reduce the cut off for Paper II CSAT from 33% to 23%.”
Mere asking for the answer key did not amount to interference in the process of recruitment: Justice Singh
Speaking of the UPSC answer key, Justice Singh said mere asking for the answer key, which might be used to assess the performance of candidates, did not amount to interference in the process of recruitment. The court observed the preliminary examination was a stand-alone examination which was qualifying in nature and, in the present case, the petitioners were neither challenging their disqualification nor assailing the examination process but only making a request for disclosure of the answer key before the entire process is completed. “This court is of the view that there is no hurdle in adjudicating the instant petition,” it said.
Timely publication of the UPSC CSE Prelims answer key was in the public interest: Petitioners’ Lawyer
The petitioners’ lawyer had argued that timely publication of the answer key of the preliminary civil services examination was in the public interest as it would help them assess their capabilities and reduce burden from the system. They initially sought quashing of the Civil Services Preliminary Examination, 2023 in their petition but subsequently decided to only press their demand for publication of the answer key. “Not providing to the students the answer key of an exam they have appeared for, not considering the representations of the candidates despite a particular time window being provided for the same, and asking questions, which are disproportionately vague, testing candidates’ ability to answer only on the basis of guesswork, is not only arbitrary but defies all principles of fairness, logic and rationality,” the petition said, PTI reported.
Opposing the plea, the UPSC said the integrity of the examination process has to be protected as civil services examinations were structured and have to be conducted in a time bound manner. Earlier, the court had refused to stay the Commission’s decision inviting applications for Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2023 while dismissing an application by the petitioners. The petitioners have said when a competitive exam is conducted, the answer key to multiple choice questions is prepared in advance so it can be released after the exam has been conducted, thereby giving the candidates a fair idea of evaluation.
However, in a press note of June 12, the Commission stated, “marks, cut off marks and answer keys of CS(P) Examination, 2023 will be uploaded on the Commission’s website i.e. https://upsc.gov.in only after the entire process of the Civil Services Examination 2023 is over, that is, after the declaration of final result”, the petitioners have further claimed. Check press note here.
UPSC CSE Press Note PDF Download Link
They have said almost all state Public Service Commissions and other authorities like the High Court of Delhi in respect of the Delhi Judicial Service Examination, IITs, NLUs and IIMs release the provisional answer key within a week of the conduct of an examination and invite objections from the candidates. They then release the final answer key by modifying their provisional answer key based on the objections, the petitioners have contended.
UPSC CSE Main Exam Date
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is all set to conduct the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2023 from September 15, 2023. The examination will be held in two shifts on September 15, 16, 17, 23, and 24, 2023. The examination will be held in two shifts – the forenoon session(9:00 AM to 12:00 noon) and the afternoon shift(2:00 PM to 5:00 PM). Check exam date guidelines HERE.
If UPSC releases the Civil Services(Prelims) Answer Key, candidates can check and download it from the official website – upsc.gov.in and https://upsconline.nic.in/. Here’s how.
- Visit the official website upsc.gov.in and https://upsconline.nic.in/.
- On the homepage, look for the ‘Examination’ section.
- Click on the ‘Answer Keys’ section.
- Click on the direct link and enter the login details if required.
- View your UPSC CSE Prelims Answer Key 2023 and take a printout of it for future reference.
UPSC CSE Prelims Answer Key 2023(Download Link to be active soon once commission releases)
NOTE: UPSC has not released the UPSC Civil Services Prelims Answer Key Date And Time. To find the most up-to-date and accurate information regarding UPSC, we recommend you to check out this space — https://www.india.com/education/ — and visit the official UPSC website upsc.gov.in and https://upsconline.nic.in/.