Index
Sl. Particulars of Document Page No. of Parts to Remarks
No. which it belongs
Part 1 Part II
(Contents (Contents
of Paper of File
Book) alone)
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)
1. Court Fee A A
2. Listing Proforma A1-A2 A1-A2
3. Cover page of Paper Book A-3
4. Index of record of Proceedings A-4
5. Defect List A-5
6. Note Sheet NS1 to ...
7. Synopsis and List of Dates B – W
8. Writ Petition with affidavit 1 – 48
9. Appendix : True Copy of relevant 49
portion of Art 14 of Constitution
of India 1949
10. Annexure P-1: True copy of the 50 – 52
National Council for Educational
Research and Training (NCERT),
9th Class (Democratic Politics),
Chapter 6: Democratic Rights
p.109 only, dated 2017
11. Ann exure P-2: True copy of the 53 – 55
New NCERT, 11th Class,
Introduction to Indian
Constitution, pp.66-67 only,
dated 2017
12. Annexure P-3: True copy of the 56 – 58
‘Oxford Handbook on Indian
Constitution’, by Sujit Choudhry,
Oxford University Press, p.88
only, dated 2016 13. Annexure P-4: True copy of the 59
National Institute of Open
Schooling book: Ancient India,
Course Code 315, Module-1
Lesson-3: Harappan Civilization,
p.37 only, dated 2017
14. Annexure P-5: True copy of the 60 - 66
“A History of Ancient and Early
Medieval India From the Stone
Age to the 12th Century”,
pp.157-158 only, dated 2015
15. Annexure P-6: True copy of the 67 – 68
“Ancient India”, by Makhan Lal,
Old NCERT Text Book for Class
11th, p.74 only, dated 2002
16. Annexure P-7: True Copy of the 69 – 70
“History of Ancient India”, Motilal
Banarasi Dass Publishers, Rama
Shankar Tripathi, p.39 only,
dated 2014
17. Annexure P-8: True copy of the 71 Terracotta of Horse at National
Museum, New Delhi, dated 2017
18. Annexure P-9: True copy of the 72 – 77
“Harappan Civilization: An
Analysis in Modern Context” by
Deep Raj Gupta, Source:
http://ignca.nic.in/nl002308.html
, dated 2017
19. Annexure P-10: True copy of the 78 – 81
“The Wonder that was India” by
A.L. Basham, Picador Publication,
pp.17-18, dated 2016
20. Annexure P-11: True copy of the 82 – 84
Tamil Nadu State Government
Publication, Class 11, p.20, dated
2017
21. Annexure P-12: True copy of the 85 – 89
Old NCERT, 11th Class, Ancient
India by RS Sharma, pp.38-39,
dated 1990 22. Annexure P-13: True Copy of 90 – 92
R.C. Majumdar (Laxmi
Publications Pvt Ltd) Advanced
History of India, p.19, dated
2016
23. Annexure P-14: True Copy of 93 – 94
“Critical Habitat Information
System for Gulf of Khambhat,
Gujarat”, Department of Ocean
Development, Government of
India, p.5 only, dated 2002
24. Annexure P-15: True Copy of 95
Gujarat Government website
details on Bhavnagar:
https://bhavnagardp.gujarat.gov.
in/bhavnagar/english/jillavishe/hi
storical-places/nishkalank-
mahadev.htm, dated 2017
25. Annexure P-16: True copy of the 96 – 97
‘Tidal tables for Bhavnagar,
INCOIS, Hyderabad’
http://www.incois.gov.in/docume nts/IMD%20Training_SRINIVAS_
INCOIS_tides.pdf,pp.16-17,dated
2014
26. Annexure P-17: True copy of the 98– 101
Information on Chandipur,
Official
Website,’http://odishatourism.go
v.in/?q=node/97’, Government of
Odisha, dated 2017
27. Annexure P-18: True copy of the 102 – 116
Email representations from
Petitioners no. 1-9, 11, 14, 15,
and 18 made to UPSC, dated
2017
28. Annexure P-19: True copy of the 117
Question No. 8, Set A of Civil
Services Preliminary Examination
2016., dated 2016
29. Annexure P-20: True copy of the 118-119
Official Answer Key of Civil
Services Preliminary Examination 2016, dated 2016
30. Annexure P-21: True copy of the 120
Official document from the
website of International Finance
Corporation
http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/con
nect/corp_ext_content/ifc_extern
al_corporate_site/about+ifc_new
, dated 2017
31. Annexure P-22: True copy of the 121 – 122
World Bank Official website:
http://www.worldbank.org/en/w
ho-we-are, dated 2017
32. Annexure P-23: True copy of the 123
Civil Services Preliminary
Examination 2011 Q.11, Set A.,
dated 2011
33. Annexure P-24: True copy of the 124-125
Official Answer Key, Civil
Services Preliminary Examination
2011, Set A, dated 2011 34. Annexure P-25: True copy of the 126 – 144
Constitutional 73rd Amendment
Act, dated 2017
35. Annexure P-26: True copy of the 145 – 166
Constitutional 74th Amendment
Act, dated 2017
36. Annexure P-27: True copy of the 167 – 168
Letter from UPSC to Mr. Shashi
Tharoor for UPSC CS Mains Essay
2016, dated 2016
37. Annexure P-28: True copy of the 169 – 175
Compilation of Notices,
Advertisements released from
various State Public Service
Commissions regarding
Objections over Answer keys and
Revised Answer Key release
subsequently, dated 2017
38. Annexure P-29: True copy of the 176 – 177
order of in Writ Petition 564 of
2017 which was dismissed by the Supreme Court, dated 2017
39. Annexure P-30: True copy of the 178 – 183
email replies from the UPSC in
response to representation email
sent by petitioners, dated 2017
40. F/M
41. Vakalatnama A-1
Proforma for First Listing
Section ______
The case pertains to (Please tick/check the correct box):
Central Act: (Title) _Constitution of India, 1949_
Section: _Article 14______
Central Rule: (Title) _NA______
Rule No(s): _NA______
State Act: (Title) _NA______
Section: _NA______
State Rule: (Title) _NA______
Rule No(s) _NA______
Impugned Interim Order: (Date) _NA______
Impugned Final Order: (Date) _NA______
Name of Judges: _NA______
Tribunal/Authority: _NA______
1. Nature of matter:
2. (a) Petitioner/appellant No.1: _Mr Vishal Rathi_
(b) e-mail ID: [email protected]_
(c) Mobile phone number: _+917838846880_
3. (a) Respondent No.1: _Union Public Service Commission_
(b) e-mail ID: _NA______
(c) Mobile phone number: _NA______
4. (a) Main category classification: ______
(b) Sub classification: ______A-2
5. Not to be listed before: _NA______
6. Similar/Pending matter: _NA______
7. Criminal Matters:
(a) Whether accused/convict has surrendered:
(b) FIR No. _NA______Date: _NA______
(c) Police Station: _NA______
(d) Sentence Awarded: _NA______
(e) Sentence Undergone: _NA______
8. Land Acquisition Matters:
(a) Date of section 4 notification: _NA______
(b) Date of section 6 notification: _NA______
(c) Date of section 17 notification: _NA______
9. Tax Matters: State the tax effect: _NA______
10. Special Category (first petitioner/appellant only):
11. Vehicle Number (in case of Motor Accident Claim matters): _NA_
12. Decided cases with citation: _NA______
Date: 13.9.2017 Mr. Satya Mitra
AOR for petitioner(s)/appellant(s)
Registration No.1852
Email: [email protected] A-3
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Civil Original Jurisdiction
Writ Petition (Civil) No. of 2017
(under Article 32 of the Constitution of India)
In the matter of:
Vishal Rathi & Ors. …Petitioner
Versus
Union Public Service Commission …Respondent
Paper Book
(for index, please see inside)
Delhi 12 September 2017
Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr Satya Mitra A-4
Index of Record of Proceedings
Sn. Date of Records of Proceedings Pages
1. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
2. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
3. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
4. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
5. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
6. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
7. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
8. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
9. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
10. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
11. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
12. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
13. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
14. Court’s order dated……………………………………………
15. Court’s order dated…………………………………………… B
Synopsis
1. This writ petition is filed in respect of the Civil Services Preliminary
Examinations conducted by the UPSC on 18.6.2017 where
4,62,000 students participated. According to the UPSC there was
only one correct answer to each question. According to the
petitioners at least 4 questions out of 100 were framed in such a
manner as to be ambiguous and not structured coherently so that
there were 2 equally plausible correct answers. In such a
circumstance, a more astute student would know that from
authoritative texts two correct answers were possible. Such a
student would avoid answering the question at all since negative
marks were awarded for a wrong answer. The result would be
that such a student would either lose 2 marks for the question not
answered or lose 2.67 marks for choosing an answer not
corresponding to the ‘key’. Key is the list of correct answers. It has
not been disclosed by UPSC and it is said that it will be disclosed
at the end of the merit exam, almost after a year. This is arbitrary
and prevents the students from making good their case that the
correct answers were either not correct at all or were not the only
correct answer.
2. To explain this submission petitioner has prepared the following
table:
C
Q1. Right to Answer 1: (c) Constitutional Right, because: vote and to (i) “For example, the right to property is not a be elected in Fundamental Right but it is a constitutional right. India is a Right to vote in elections is an important a) Fundamen constitutional right.” — ‘Democratic Politics’, p.109,
tal Right. NCERT Text Book for Class 9th, (Annexure P-1,
pp.50-52) b) Natural
Right. (ii) “One of the important decisions of the framers of
India Constitution was to guarantee every adult c) Constitutio citizen in India, the right to vote (Article 326)” — nal Right. ‘Introduction to Indian Constitution’, p.66, NCERT d) Legal Right Text Book for Class 11th, (Annexure P-2, pp.53-55)
(iii) “21. Therefore, in our opinion, the question
whether the right to vote at an election for either
the Lok Sabha or the Legislative Assembly is a
statutory right or a constitutional right is no more
res integra and stands concluded by the
abovementioned judgments, in PUCL (People's
Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) v. Union of India,
(2003) 4 SCC 399) and DMDK (Desiya Murpokku
Dravida Kazhagam(DMDK) v. Election Commission
of India, (2012) 7 SCC 340) cases — Rajbala v. D
State of Haryana, (2016) 2 SCC 445
Answer 2: (d) Legal Right, because:
(i) “Section 62 Right to Vote (1) No person who is
not, and except as expressly provided by the Act,
every person who is, for the time being entered in
the electoral roll of any constituency shall be
entitled to vote in that constituency.” —
Representation of the People Act, 1951
(ii) “8. A right to elect, fundamental though it is to
democracy, is anomalously enough, neither a
fundamental right nor a common law right. It is
pure and simple, a statutory right. So is the right
to be elected. So is the right to dispute an election.
Outside of statute, there is no right to elect, no
right to be elected and no right to dispute an
election.”—Jyoti Basu vs. Debi Ghosal (1982) 1
SCC 691
(iii) “77. While the exercise of electoral franchise is an
essential component of a liberal democracy, it is a
well-settled principle in Indian law, that the right to
vote and contest elections does not have the
status of fundamental rights. Instead, they are in E
the nature of legal rights which can be controlled
through legislative means.” — KK Krishna Murthy
(Dr) & Ors. v. Union of India & Anr., (2010) 7 SCC
202
(iv) “54. No doubt, the right to vote is a statutory right
but it is equally vital to recollect that this statutory
right is the essence of democracy...” “21. …In
succinct, the ratio of the judgment (2003) 4 SCC
399 was that though the right to vote is a statutory
right but the decision taken by a voter after
verifying the credentials of the candidate either to
vote or not is his right of expression under Article
19(1)(a) of the Constitution.” “22. As a result, the
judgments in Assn. for Democratic Reforms
[(2002) 5 SCC 294] and People's Union for Civil
Liberties [(2003) 4 SCC 399] have not disturbed
the position that right to vote is a statutory right.
Both the judgments have only added that the right
to know the background of a candidate is a
fundamental right of a voter so that he can take a
rational decision of expressing himself while
exercising the statutory right to vote.” “24. ...It is
clear that a fine distinction was drawn between the F
right to vote and the freedom of voting as a
species of freedom of expression, while reiterating
the view in Jyoti Basu v. Debi Ghosal that a right to
elect, fundamental though it is to democracy, is
neither a fundamental right nor a common law
right, but pure and simple, a statutory right” ”25.
...Thus, there is no contradiction as to the fact that
right to vote is neither a fundamental right nor a
constitutional right but a pure and simple statutory
right. ...” — PUCL v. Union of India, (2013) 10 SCC
1
(v) “...These three decisions produced an internally
inconsistent and confusing electoral jurisprudence.
On the one hand, the right to vote is a statutory
privilege, which can be given and taken away by
ordinary legislative majorities. On the other hand,
the right to secrecy in voting and the right to cast a
negative vote are treated as fundamental rights
based on the structure of the Constitution, and are
immune from the ordinary political process. ...” —
Page- 88 ‘Oxford Handbook on Indian Constitution’,
by Sujit Choudhry, Oxford University Press, 2016
(Annexure P-3, pp.56-58) G
Q2. With Answer 1: (a) 1 only, because: reference to Statement 1 is indisputably factually correct, statement the difference 2 is indisputably incorrect, and statement 3, as later between the explained, can be said to be incorrect. But statement 3 culture of Rig has remained controversial as stated below. Vedic Aryans Answer 2: (c) 1 and 3 only, because: and Indus
Valley People, This would be correct if statement 3 is so. But which of the statement 3 has remained controversial. There is no following agreement even among the established textbooks and statements sources. Therefore, even an astute student would be is/are confused between choosing — ‘(a) 1 only’ (only correct? statement 1 is correct), and ‘(c) 1 and 3 only’ (both
statement 1 and 3 are correct) — as the correct 1. Rigvedic answer. Aryans
used the Below authorities would establish the controversy with
coat of respect to statement 3, i.e. “…there is no evidence of
mail and Indus Valley people having been aware of this animal.”
helmet in (i) “…It has led many scholars to argue that horse warfare was not known to the Harappan people though whereas there are others who do not accept this argument.” the people — ‘Ancient India’, p.37, National Institute of Open of Indus Schooling, Government of India, 2017 (Annexure H
Valley P-4, p.59)
Civilization (ii) “The issue of horse is controversial and hinges on did not the stratigraphic context in which the remains have leave any been found and the identification of the species evidence they belong to. For instance, it is not easy to of using ascertain whether the bones in question belongs to them. half ass or domesticated horse…. While horse
2. Rig Vedic bones may not be completely absent at the
Aryans Harappan sites, they're not prolific either. Horse
knew gold, remains have been reported at Harappa, Lothal,
silver and Surkotada, Kuntasi and Kalibangan and at
copper superficial level at Mohenjo-daro” — ‘A History of
whereas Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone
Indus Age to the 12th Century’, page- 157-158, by
Valley Upinder Singh, Pearson Publication, Essential Text
people Book prescribed for History courses at Delhi
knew only University (Annexure P-5, pp.60-66)
copper and (iii) “Bones of horse have been reported from Lothal, iron. Surkotada, Kalibangan and several other sites.
3. Rig Vedic Terracotta figurines of the horse have been found
Aryans had at Nausharo and Lothal. But no unambiguous
domesticat depiction of this animal on seal has so far been
ed the found.” — ‘Ancient India’, p.74, Makhan Lal, Old I
horse NCERT Text Book for Class 11th, Print-2002
whereas (Annexure P-6, pp.67-68)
there is no (iv) ...The metals known to the Rigvedic Aryans were evidence gold, copper or bronze, and perhaps iron. The of Indus Indus people have left no trace of iron; they used Valley silver more commonly than gold, and their utensils people and vessels 'were made of stone — a relic of the having Neolithic age — as well as of copper and bronze. been The weapons of offence were almost the same in aware of both the 'ages, but the defensive helmet and coat this of mail, known to the Rigvedic people, were not a animal. feature of the Indus civilisation. It appears from
Select the the numerous seals discovered at Mohenjo-daro correct that the bull was their most important animal, but answer using during the Rigvedic period the cow takes its place. the code The horse was unfamiliar to the Indus valley given below: people, whereas the Rigvedic Aryans had
domesticated it.”- by Rama Shankar Tripathi, (a) 1 Only History of Ancient India, Publication (b) 2 and 3 Year:2014(Annexure P-7, pp.69-70) Only (v) Terracotta horse figurine, excavated from an Indus (c) 1 and 3 Valley Civilisation Site, at National Museum, Delhi Only J
(d) 1, 2 and (Annexure P-8, p.71)
3 (vi) “Horse bones have also been discovered at
Surkotada, indicating use of the animal” —
‘Harappan Civilization: An Analysis in Modern
Context’, by Deep Raj Gupta, The Indira Gandhi
National Centre for Arts, (Annexure P-9, pp.72-77)
(vii) “The Harrapan people may have known of the
horse....” — ‘The Wonder that was India’, pp.17-
18, by A.L Basham, Oxford Publications, 2016
(Annexure P-10, pp.78-81)
(viii) “The use of horse is not yet firmly established.”
— ‘History, Higher Secondary, First Year’, p.20,
Tamil Nadu Text Book for Class 11th, dated 2017
(Annexure P-11, pp.82-84)
(ix) “The remains of the horse have been reported
from Surakotada, situated on the west coast of
Gujarat, and belong to around 2000 B.C., but it is
clear that this animal was not in regular use in
Harrapan times.” — ‘Ancient Indian History’, RS
Sharma p.38-39, NCERT Text Book for Class 11th,
Print 1990, (Annexure P-12, pp.85-89)
(x) “The remains of skeletons prove that the humped K
bull, buffalo, camel were domesticated. There are
some doubts about the horse.” — ‘Advanced
History of India’, p.19, RC Majumdar, Laxmi
Publications Pvt. Ltd. 2016 (Annexure P-13, pp.90-
92)
Q3. At one of Answer 1: (a) Bhavnagar, because: the places in (i) “...Because of its unique position (nearness to the India, if you Tropic of cancer), Gujrat experiences very high stand on the tide; the highest anywhere along the Indian coast. seashore and Because of the funnel shape and the semi enclosed watch the nature at the head, the tidal height increases sea, you will tremendously in the upstream. The mean tidal find that the elevation during spring is 4.7 m at Mahva Bandar seawater which rises to 6.5 m at Gopnath Point and 10.2 recedes from metres at Bhavnagar. The maximum spring tide the shoreline recorded at Bhavnagar is 12.5 m which is second a few only to that of highest tide recorded anywhere in kilometres the world (around 17 m at the Bay of Fundi on and comes Newfoundland coast of Canada). Because of the back to the high tidal amplitude, especially in the upper gulf, it shore, twice a has huge inter tidal expanses of 1.5 to 5 km, day, and you perhaps the widest along the Indian coast.” — can actually ‘Critical Habitat Information System for Gulf of L walk on the Khambhat, Gujarat’, p.5, Department of Ocean sea floor Development, Government of India, 2002 when the (Annexure P-14, pp.93-94) water (ii) “Nishkalank Mahadev Temple, Koliyak is located at recedes. This a distance of about 23 km to the east of unique Bhavnagar. It has to be noted that the place gets phenomenon inundated under the tide.” — Article at Official is seen at: Website, Government of Gujarat (Annexure P-15, a) Bhavnagar p.95) b) Bheemuni (iii) Tidal tables for Bhavnagar (Page 16-17,
patnam http://www.incois.gov.in/documents/IMD%20Train
ing_SRINIVAS_INCOIS_tides.pdf) (Annexure P-16, c) Chandipu pp.96-97) r
Answer 2: (c) Chandipur, because: d) Nagapatti
nam (i) “Unlike other beaches, the sea water here
recedes away from the shore line about five km
twice a day, an unusual phenomenon, rarely
found anywhere. You can see the sea literally
vanishing before your eyes and also watch it
coming back rhythmically at regular intervals, as
if playing hide and seek.” —
http://odishatourism.gov.in/?q=node/97, Official M
Website, Government of Odisha (Annexure P-17,
pp.98-101)
Inference:
(i) There are three basic tidal patterns occur along
the Earth’s major shorelines. In general, most
areas have two high tides and two low tides
each day. When the two highs and the two
lows are about the same height, the pattern is
called a semi- daily or semidiurnal tide. If the
high and low tides differ in height, the pattern
is called a mixed semidiurnal tide. Some rare
areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico, have only
one high and one low tide each day. This is
called a diurnal tide.
(ii) Hence, the assertion in the question that semi-
diurnal or mixed semi-diurnal tide is unique at a
single place in India is factually incorrect. Most
of the places on the Indian Coast line
experience semi-diurnal or mixed semi-diurnal
coastline.
(iii) The evidences clearly prove that sea water
recedes twice a day for kilometres and people N
can walk on the sea floor at both Bhavanagar
and Chandipur. Hence, the answer to this
question can be both option (a) and option (c)
Q4. For In this question, none of the answers are correct. election to Answer (a) is clearly not correct because a foreign the Lok citizen residing in India cannot file nomination. Sabha, a Answer (b) is not correct because candidates’ nomination domicile/residence is immaterial for him to file paper can be nomination from a constituency. Present Prime filed by: Minister Hon. Mr Narendra Modi filed nomination, and a) Anyone is elected, from the Constituency of Varanasi, UP, residing even when His Honour has never been a resident in India. there. b) A Answer (c) is not correct because not “Any citizen “of resident India can file nomination. Age requirement is to be of the met, i.e. she/he needs to be 25 years or above. constitue Answer (d) is not correct for the same reasons as ncy from answer (c). which
the
election
is to be O
conteste
d. c) Any
citizen of
India
whose
name
appears
in the
electoral
roll of a
constitue
ncy. d) Any
citizen of
India.
3. Petitioners nos. 1-9, 11, 14, 15, and 18 made representations to
UPSC in respect of the questions and answers. These
representations are at Annexure P-18 (pp.102-116). UPSC has given
identical replies to all such representations. One such reply, received
by petitioner no.3 is asunder: P
“I am directed to refer to your email dated the 8th August 2017
on the above cited subject and to say that the Questions and
the corresponding Answer Keys of the Civil Services
(Preliminary) Examination, 2017 were prepared by the different
panels of experts. Subsequently, different sets of experts
reviewed the questions and the corresponding answer keys
on completion of examination.” (Annexure P-30, pp. 178-183)
4. A similar situation as in this case arose in Rajesh Kumar vs. State
of Bihar (2013) 4 SCC 690 where the Supreme Court held:
“2. Application of an erroneous "Model Answer Key" for
evaluation of answer scripts of candidates appearing in a
competitive examination is bound to lead to erroneous results
and an equally erroneous inter-se merit list of such
candidates…
5. In the writ petition filed by the aggrieved candidates, a
Single Judge of the High Court referred the "Model Answer
Key" to experts. The model answers were examined by two
experts, Dr. (Prof.) C.N. Sinha, and Prof. KSP Singh,
associated with NIT, Patna, who found several such answers
to be wrong. In addition, two questions were also found to be
wrong while two others were found to have been repeated.
Question No. 100 was also found to be defective as the
choices in the answer key were printed but only partially… Q
15. The writ petitioners, it is evident, on a plain reading of the writ petition questioned not only the process of evaluation of the answer scripts by the Commission but specifically averred that the “model answer key” which formed the basis for such evaluation was erroneous. One of the questions that, therefore, fell for consideration by the High Court directly was whether the “model answer key” was correct. The High Court had aptly referred that question to experts in the field who, as already noticed above, found the “model answer key” to be erroneous in regard to as many as 45 questions out of a total of 100 questions contained in ‘A’ series question paper.
Other errors were also found to which we have referred earlier. If the key which was used for evaluating the answer sheets was itself defective the result prepared on the basis of the same could be no different. The Division Bench of the
High Court was, therefore, perfectly justified in holding that the result of the examination insofar as the same pertained to
‘A’ series question paper was vitiated. This was bound to affect the result of the entire examination qua every candidate whether or not he was a party to the proceedings.
It also goes without saying that if the result was vitiated by the application of a wrong key, any appointment made on the basis thereof would also be rendered unsustainable… R
19. The submissions made by Mr Rao are not without merit.
Given the nature of the defect in the answer key the most natural and logical way of correcting the evaluation of the scripts was to correct the key and get the answer scripts re- evaluated on the basis thereof. There was, in the circumstances, no compelling reason for directing a fresh examination to be held by the Commission especially when there was no allegation about any malpractice, fraud or corrupt motives that could possibly vitiate the earlier examination to call for a fresh attempt by all concerned. The process of re-evaluation of the answer scripts with reference to the correct key will in addition be less expensive apart from being quicker. The process would also not give any unfair advantage to anyone of the candidates on account of the time lag between the examination earlier held and the one that may have been held pursuant to the direction of the High
Court. Suffice it to say that the re-evaluation was and is a better option, in the facts and circumstances of the case…
20. That brings us to the submission by Mr Rao that while re- evaluation is a good option not only to do justice to those who may have suffered on account of an erroneous key being applied to the process but also to the writ petitioners,
Respondents 6 to 18 in the matter of allocating to them their rightful place in the merit list. Such evaluation need not S
necessarily result in the ouster of the appellants should they
be found to fall below the “cut-off” mark in the merit list…
21. There is considerable merit in the submission of Mr Rao.
It goes without saying that the appellants were innocent
parties who have not, in any manner, contributed to the
preparation of the erroneous key or the distorted result.
There is no mention of any fraud or malpractice against the
appellants who have served the State for nearly seven years
now. In the circumstances, while inter se merit position may
be relevant for the appellants, the ouster of the latter need
not be an inevitable and inexorable consequence of such a re-
evaluation. The re-evaluation process may additionally benefit
those who have lost the hope of an appointment on the basis
of a wrong key applied for evaluating the answer scripts.
Such of those candidates as may be ultimately found to be
entitled to issue of appointment letters on the basis of their
merit shall benefit by such re-evaluation and shall pick up
their appointments on that basis according to their inter se
position on the merit list.”
5. Vikas Pratap Singh vs. State of Chhattisgarh (2013) 14 SCC 494
held:
“4. In the meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police and the
respondent Board received complaints in respect of T
defects/mistakes in several questions of the main examination
papers. The respondent Board constituted an expert
committee to inquire into the complaints. Upon examination
of the two papers, two sets of defects were noticed: (a) eight
questions in paper II itself were incorrect; and (b) model
answers for evaluation of answer scripts to another eight
questions of paper II were incorrect. The respondent Board
directed for deletion of the first set of 8 questions in paper II
and preparation of correct model answers key for objective
questions in paper I and II and accordingly carried out
revaluation of answer scripts of the candidates. On 27-6-2009
a new revised merit list was published wherein the names of
twenty-six appellants did not figure at all and accordingly, the
appointment of the appellants were cancelled by the
respondent State.”
6. In the circumstances, any apprehension that this petition is likely
to affect adversely those finding themselves through to the merit
exam is misplaced. The only effect that this petition will have is
that an additional number of students who have been wrongly
excluded on account of the faulty questions and answers will be
allowed to participate in the main exams to be held from 28
October 2017. U
7. In the alternative, it is prayed in this petition that once it is
decided that a certain number of students have been wrongly
excluded, they be permitted to appear in the preliminary
examination in the next year i.e. in June 2018 and the present
unsuccessful attempt be not counted towards the total permissible
attempts limit.
8. Hence, this petition is being filed on the main ground that the
petitioners should not be made to suffer on account of a mistake
made by the UPSC. That UPSC is bound to make a disclosure of
the answer key and justify the questions and answers said by
UPSC to be correct. Once it is determined by this Court that UPSC
has, indeed, made mistakes, this Court may pass appropriate
orders rectifying the mistakes. UPSC owes it to the students to be
fair and transparent. In writ petition 564 of 2017 which was
dismissed by the Supreme Court (see the order at Annexure P-29,
pp.176-177) the UPSC neither disclosed the answer key nor the
position of the student in the merit list. The UPSC blocked the
consideration of the case on merits by adopting a non-transparent
stand and by stating that the petitioner in that case had not made
a representation against the questions and answers. In the
present instance, the students have made such a representation.
9. Petitioners pray: V
a) issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order
or direction to the UPSC to disclose the answer key as well as
the standing of the petitioners in the merit list with the
answers given by them to the questions in the preliminary
exam;
b) issue an order directing the formation of an Expert Committee
to make a report to this Court, should Your Lordships, prima
facie come to the conclusion that the petitioners are right in
their contention that the questions/answers were ambiguous
or structured wrongly and that the key to the correct answers
was wrong or that the questions corresponded to two
answers both of them correct;
c) issue an order directing that the concerned students be
allowed to participate in the main exams scheduled for 28
October 2017, if the Expert Committee gives an opinion partly
or wholly in favour of the petitioners; and
d) any other relief deemed fit and proper in the circumstance of
the present case.
List of Dates and Events
Date Events
22.2.2017 : UPSC Civil Services Examination 2017 application form
Notification released. W
17.3.2017 : 10,00,000 approx. application forms received by UPSC.
18.6.2017 : 4,63,000 approx. applicants appear for UPSC Civil Services
Preliminary Examination 2017. Question paper has several
ambiguous questions.
22.7.2017 : ‘Ashita Chawla v. Union Public Service Commission,
WP(C)564 of 2017’ is filed, inter alia seeking allotment of
(full) marks against ambiguous questions. This petition is
filed by a single applicant, rest of the aggrieved students
numbering 100s are in the process of filing their
respective petition before this Hon’ble Court.
27.7.2017 : 13,400 approx. applicants are shortlisted for UPSC Civil
Services Mains Examination 2017.
WP(C)564 of 2017 is admitted for hearing.
31.7.2017 : UPSC files reply in WP(C)564 of 2017.
1.8.2017 : WP(C)564 of 2017 is dismissed.
14.9.2017 : Hence, this petition. 1
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Civil Original Jurisdiction
Writ Petition (Civil) No. of 2017
(under Article 32 of the Constitution of India)
In the matter of:
1. Mr Vishal Rathi S/o Gurumel Singh Rathi
UPSC Roll No.0007846
R/o 960 Village Bhopa, PO Bhopa,
Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh 251308 …Petitioner no.1
2. Mr. Vaibhav Tiwari S/o Rajesh Kumar Tiwari
UPSC Roll No.0709291
R/o Gas Godown Road, Meenakshi Nagar,
Durg, Chattisgarh 491001 …Petitioner no.2
3. Niraj Kumar Singh S/o Yogendra Prasad
UPSC Roll No.0049108
R/o 39 New Type B, Bhulinagar, Dhanbad 828104...Petitioner no.3
4. Ravi Kant DwivediS/o Raghunandan Dhar Dwivedi
UPSC Roll No.0280768
R/o Near Congress Office, Katra Lal Ganj,
Amethi, Uttar Pradesh 227409 ...Petitioner no.4
5. Iznallah S/o Munazirul Islam
UPSC Roll No.0026617 2
R/o 3 SFB-2/7, Bahadurpur Housing Colony,
Kankarbagh, Patna, Bihar 800026 ...Petitioner no.5
6. Binita Sinha D/o Braj Kishore Sinha
UPSC Roll No.0274718
R/o House No.137, Ground Floor,
Anandpuri North, Patna, Bihar 800001 ...Petitioner no.6
7. Shailendra Kumar Singh S/o Yogendra Prasad Singh
UPSC Roll No.0548783
R/o 36 Maharajganj Tola,Simiri Kala, Kutumba,
PO Satgawan, Simri, Aurangabad, Bihar 824111 ...Petitioner no.7
8. Piyush Gade S/o Arun Gade
UPSC Roll No.0474121
R/o 303, Shreyas Banerjee Layout,
Nagpur, Maharashtra 440027 ...Petitioner no.8
9. Anshu Kumar Chaturvedi S/o Rameshwar Chaubey
UPSC Roll No.0008842
R/o 439, CD Indian Institute Colony, Mughalsarai,
District Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh 232101 ...Petitioner no.9
10. Suneel Kumar Patel S/o Ashok Kumar
UPSC Roll No.0225016
R/o Sathi, Hanuman Mandir, Baberu, Sathi,
Banda, Uttar Pradesh 21021 ...Petitioner no.10 3
11. Lalit Kumar S/o Sharanpal Singh
UPSC Roll No.0594046
R/o 10, Sector 7, Chandigarh 160019 ...Petitioner no.11
12. KM Anju Rani D/o Sharanpal Singh
UPSC Roll No.0593895
R/o House No. 14, Gandhi Nagar, Nai Mandi,
Kukra, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh 251001 …Petitioner no.12
13. Gaurav Kumar S/o Sharanpal Singh
UPSC Roll No.0602240
R/o House No.14, GandhiNagar, NaiMandi,
Kukra, Muzaffarnagar, UttarPradesh251001 …Petitioner no.13
14. Vinod Kumar Chaudhary S/o Late Antoo Ram
UPSC Roll No.0140305
R/o QN 216/C, D L W Colony, DLW, Varanasi,
Uttar Pradesh 221004 …Petitioner no.14
15. Neha Mishra D/o Kesari Prasad Mishra
UPSC Roll No.0450054
R/o Sundar Nagar, Karni Mata ka mandir II,
Khatipura W.N 10, Jaipur 302012 …Petitioner no.15
16. Vijay S/o Ramesh Chander
UPSC Roll No.0602560 4
R/o H. No. 16/1, Khuda Lahora,
Chandigarh 160014 …Petitioner no.16
17. Shahana Munazir D/o Munazirul Islam
UPSC Roll No.0027257
R/o Room No. J 14, Rudra North,
St. Stephen’s College DU, Delhi 110007 …Petitioner no.17
18. Safdar Rahman S/o Tanvir Roshan Rahman
UPSC Roll No.0594852
E1 Income Tax Officer Apartment, Phase 2
Khajpura, Patna, Bihar 800014 …Petitioner no.18
19. G Aloke Kumar S/o G Rajendra Kumar
UPSC Roll No.0231124
H. No.5.3.128 Goshamahal, Mindi Nagar,
Hyderabad 500012 …Petitioner no.19
20. Sagar Anil Nagarkar S/o Nagarkar Anil Pandurang
UPSC Roll No.0132823
R/o Sr. No. 19/8B, Hingane Home Col, Karve Nagar,
Pune, Maharahtra 411052 …Petitioner no.20
21. Saurabh S/o Ashok Kumar Dubey
UPSC Roll No.0002688
R/o Shukla Colony, Hinoo, PS Doranda
Ranchi, Jharkhand 834002 …Petitioner no.21 5
22. Vibhnshu Kaushal Choudhary S/o Kaushal Kishor Chaudhary
UPSC Roll No.0021301
R/o Shiv Shankar Path, Mithanpura
Mushahari, Muzaffarpur, Bihar 842002 …Petitioner no.22
23. Gyanendra Kumar Srivastava S/o Ram Lal Srivastava
UPSC Roll No.0046958
R/o Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh …Petitioner no.23
24. Nandan Kumar Thakur
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Rajendra Nagar, New Delhi …Petitioner no.24
25. Vikrant Khare S/o Ashok Khare
UPSC Roll No.0161554
R/o P.H.C Chhuikhadan, Hospital Colony,
Rajnandgaon, Chhatisgarh 491441 …Petitioner no.25
26. Prema KumariD/o Sushil Prasad
UPSC Roll No.0024068
R/o Barh Bazar, Gopinath Munna Medical Hall,
Barh Talimpur Karailiya, Barh
Patna, Bihar 803213 …Petitioner no.26
27. Sumit Kumar Dwivedi S/o Mithilesh Kumar Dwivedi
UPSC Roll No.0008232
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.27 6
28. Alok Kumar
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.28
29. Naresh Kumar S/o Deviram
UPSC Roll No.0011649
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.29
30. Arnab Chatterjee S/o Tapan Kumar Chatterjee
UPSC Roll No.0009202
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.30
31. Sonu Kumar
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.31
32. Avdhesh Kumar Gaur S/o Rakesh Kumar Gaur
UPSC Roll No.0050300
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.32
33. Himanshu Chauhan S/o Ashok Kumar
UPSC Roll No.0702287
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.33
34. Abhishek Kumar S/o Maheshwar Mahto
UPSC Roll No.0508830
R/o Sonbarsa, Kashipur, Samastipur,
Bihar 848101 …Petitioner no.34 7
35. Chetendra Prasad S/o Brijesh Kumar
UPSC Roll No.0383861
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.35
36. Alok Bhardwaj
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.36
37. Abhishek Saurabh
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.37
38. Sandip Kumar S/o Mithilesh Kumar
UPSC Roll No.0548724
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.38
39. Pawan Kumar
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.39
40. Praveen Kumar
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.40
41. Akhilesh Kumar Saroj S/o Shitla Prasad Saroj
UPSC Roll No.0311300
R/o 10/79 B, Shivaji Puram, Indira Nagar, Lucknow,
Uttar Pradesh 226016 …Petitioner no. 41 8
42. Umashankar Sonkar S/o Jag Prasad
UPSC Roll No.0084310
R/o 276, Tarahati Kalinjar, Near Bus Stand,
Banda, Uttar Pradesh 210129 …Petitioner no.42
43. Sunil Kumar Chauhan, S/o Sugriv Chauhan
UPSC Roll No.0223101
R/o House No. 25, Dindaspur, Dharahara,
Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh 232108 …Petitioner no.43
44. Deepak Kumar
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.44
45. Reetika Bansal
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.45
46. Md. Faiz Khan
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 ...Petitioner no.46
47. Gopal Kumar S/o Chandradip Prasad Singh
UPSC Roll No.0746565
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.47 9
48. Sanjith Kumar KS
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.48
49. Abhishek Ravi S/o Krishnandan Singh
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.49
50. Jyoti Sonkar D/o Harish Chandra Sonkar
UPSC Roll No.0756116
R/o F 550, Avenue B Road, Praveesh Coaldipo,
Lakdi Taal, Ward 46, Sec 6,
Civic Centre Bhilai, Chhatisgarh 490006 …Petitioner no.50
51. Abhishek Sigatia S/o Santosh Agarwal
UPSC Roll No.0508256
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.51
52. Dheerendra
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.52
53. Balbeer Singh S/o Karan Singh
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.53 10
54. Vashisht Samrat S/o Sadanand Prasad Yadav
UPSC Roll No. Not Provided
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.54
55. Abhishek Tiwari S/o Suresh Tiwari
UPSC Roll No.0036751
R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.55
56. Ankur Tiwari S/o Arun Kumar Tiwari
UPSC Roll No.0779941
R/o 10, Padmanabhapur 12, Ward No. 45,
Village-Durg, Dist-Durg …Petitioner no.56
Versus
1. Union Public Service Commission of India
Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, Delhi 110069 ...Respondent no.1
Petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India for issuance of writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ
To
Hon. The Lord Chief Justice of India, and
His Lordship’s Companion Justices the Supreme Court of India
Petitioner respectfully sheweth:
1. This petition is filed in respect of the Civil Services Preliminary
Examinations conducted by the UPSC on 18.6.2017 where 11
4,62,000 candidates appeared. According to the petitioners
several questions were ambiguous and incoherent so that there
were at least 2 equally plausible answers. Petitioners have detailed
but 4 such questions. In such a circumstance, a more astute
student would know that from authoritative texts two correct
answers were possible. Such a student would avoid answering the
question at all since negative marks were awarded for a wrong
answer. The result would be that if the student chooses not to
answer the question he would lose 2 marks, and should he answer
but not as per the corresponding ‘key’ he would be marked
negatively and would lose 2.67 marks. The ‘key’ is the list of
correct answers. This ‘key’ has not been disclosed by UPSC and it
is always released at the end of the entire selection process
whereupon UPSC pleads Fait Accompli against any grievance of
the students. This is arbitrary and prevents the students from
making good their case that the correct answers were either not
correct at all or were not the ‘only’ correct answer.
1A. That the petitioners have not filed any other petition before the
Hon’ble Court for the same relief.
UPSC is Non-transparent
2. What is an opaque practice of the UPSC is to release the Answer
Key post completion of the entire selection process. This means
that answer key for UPSC CS Preliminary Examination2017 will be 12
released sometime in May-June 2018. By this time students
appeared for UPSC CS Mains Examination 2017 and UPSC CS
Personality Test 2017, and UPSC would have already published the
final selection list, i.e. entire selection process would be over. In fact,
selected candidates would be undergoing year long Civil Servants’
training. At that time UPSC would plead Fait Accompli and would
casually dismiss all such claims.
Questions are Ambiguous
3. To explain the ambiguity of the questions, petitioner has prepared
the following table. All reference in the table are from Government
approved/prescribed scholarly texts, such as Government NCERT
Government School Textbooks, Government websites, Government
Departments’ Official Publications, Constitution of India, Judgements
of this Hon’ble Court, etc. They are neither ‘fringe scholarship’ nor
some ‘conspiracy theories’.
Q1. Right to Answer 1: (c) Constitutional Right, because: vote and to be (i) “For example, the right to property is not a elected in Fundamental Right but it is a constitutional right. India is a Right to vote in elections is an important a) Fundament constitutional right.” — ‘Democratic Politics’, p.109,
al Right. NCERT Text Book for Class 9th, (True copy of the
National Council for Educational Research and b) Natural Training (NCERT), 9th Class (Democratic Politics), 13
Right. Chapter 6: Democratic Rights p.109 only, dated
2017, Annexure P-1, pp.50-52) c) Constitutio
nal Right. (ii) “One of the important decisions of the framers of
India Constitution was to guarantee every adult d) Legal Right citizen in India, the right to vote (Article 326)” —
‘Introduction to Indian Constitution’, p.66, NCERT
Text Book for Class 11th, (True copy of the New
NCERT, 11th Class, Introduction to Indian
Constitution, pp.66-67 only, dated 2017, Annexure
P-2, pp.53-55)
(iii) “21. Therefore, in our opinion, the question whether
the right to vote at an election for either the Lok
Sabha or the Legislative Assembly is a statutory right
or a constitutional right is no more res integra and
stands concluded by the abovementioned
judgments, in PUCL (People's Union for Civil Liberties
(PUCL) v. Union of India, (2003) 4 SCC 399) and
DMDK (Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam(DMDK)
v. Election Commission of India, (2012) 7 SCC 340)
cases — Rajbala v. State of Haryana, (2016) 2 SCC
445
Answer 2: (d) Legal Right, because:
(i) “Section 62 Right to Vote (1) No person who is not, 14
and except as expressly provided by the Act, every
person who is, for the time being entered in the
electoral roll of any constituency shall be entitled to
vote in that constituency.” — Representation of the
People Act, 1951
(ii) “8. A right to elect, fundamental though it is to
democracy, is anomalously enough, neither a
fundamental right nor a common law right. It is pure
and simple, a statutory right. So is the right to be
elected. So is the right to dispute an election. Outside
of statute, there is no right to elect, no right to be
elected and no right to dispute an election.”—Jyoti
Basu vs. Debi Ghosal (1982) 1 SCC 691
(iii) “77. While the exercise of electoral franchise is an
essential component of a liberal democracy, it is a
well-settled principle in Indian law, that the right to
vote and contest elections does not have the status of
fundamental rights. Instead, they are in the nature of
legal rights which can be controlled through legislative
means.” — KK Krishna Murthy (Dr) & Ors. v. Union of
India & Anr., (2010) 7 SCC 202
(iv) “54. No doubt, the right to vote is a statutory right but
it is equally vital to recollect that this statutory right is
the essence of democracy...” “21. …In succinct, the 15
ratio of the judgment (2003) 4 SCC 399 was that
though the right to vote is a statutory right but the
decision taken by a voter after verifying the credentials
of the candidate either to vote or not is his right of
expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.”
“22. As a result, the judgments in Assn. for Democratic
Reforms [(2002) 5 SCC 294] and People's Union for
Civil Liberties [(2003) 4 SCC 399] have not disturbed
the position that right to vote is a statutory right. Both
the judgments have only added that the right to know
the background of a candidate is a fundamental right
of a voter so that he can take a rational decision of
expressing himself while exercising the statutory right
to vote.” “24. ...It is clear that a fine distinction was
drawn between the right to vote and the freedom of
voting as a species of freedom of expression, while
reiterating the view in Jyoti Basu v. Debi Ghosal that a
right to elect, fundamental though it is to democracy,
is neither a fundamental right nor a common law right,
but pure and simple, a statutory right” ”25. ...Thus,
there is no contradiction as to the fact that right to
vote is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional
right but a pure and simple statutory right. ...” — PUCL
v. Union of India, (2013) 10 SCC 1
(v) “...These three decisions produced an internally 16
inconsistent and confusing electoral jurisprudence. On
the one hand, the right to vote is a statutory privilege,
which can be given and taken away by ordinary
legislative majorities. On the other hand, the right to
secrecy in voting and the right to cast a negative vote
are treated as fundamental rights based on the
structure of the Constitution, and are immune from the
ordinary political process...” — Page- 88 ‘Oxford
Handbook on Indian Constitution’, by Sujit Choudhry,
Oxford University Press, 2016 (True copy of the
‘Oxford Handbook on Indian Constitution’, by Sujit
Choudhry, Oxford University Press, p.88 only, dated
2016, Annexure P-3, pp.56-58)
Q2. With Answer 1: (a) 1 only, because: reference to Statement 1 is indisputably factually correct, statement 2 is the difference indisputably incorrect, and statement 3, as later explained, between the can be said to be incorrect. culture of Rig But statement 3 has remained controversial as stated Vedic Aryans below. and Indus
Valley People, Answer 2: (c) 1 and 3 only, because: which of the This would be correct if statement 3 is so. But statement 3 following has remained controversial. There is no agreement even statements among the established textbooks and sources. Therefore, is/are correct? 17
1. Rigvedic even an astute student would be confused between
Aryans used choosing — ‘(a) 1 only’ (only statement 1 is correct), and
the coat of ‘(c) 1 and 3 only’ (both statement 1 and 3 are correct) —
mail and as the correct answer.
helmet in Below authorities would establish the controversy with warfare respect to statement 3, i.e. “…there is no evidence of Indus whereas the Valley people having been aware of this animal.” people of (i) “…It has led many scholars to argue that horse was Indus Valley not known to the Harappan people though there are Civilization others who do not accept this argument.” — ‘Ancient did not India’, p.37, National Institute of Open Schooling, leave any Government of India, 2017 (True copy of the National evidence of Institute of Open Schooling book: Ancient India, using them. Course Code 315, Module-1 Lesson-3: Harappan 2. Rig Vedic Civilization, p.37 only, dated 2017, Annexure P-4, p.59) Aryans (ii) “The issue of horse is controversial and hinges on the knew gold, stratigraphic context in which the remains have been silver and found and the identification of the species they belong copper to. For instance, it is not easy to ascertain whether the whereas bones in question belongs to half ass or domesticated Indus Valley horse…. While horse bones may not be completely people absent at the Harappan sites, they're not prolific knew only either. Horse remains have been reported at Harappa, copper and Lothal, Surkotada, Kuntasi and Kalibangan and at iron. 18
3. Rig Vedic superficial level at Mohenjo-daro” — ‘A History of
Aryans had Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age
domesticate to the 12th Century’, page- 157-158, by Upinder
d the horse Singh, Pearson Publication, Essential Text Book
whereas prescribed for History courses at Delhi University (True
there is no copy of the “A History of Ancient and Early Medieval
evidence of India From the Stone Age to the 12th Century”,
Indus Valley pp.157-158 only, dated 2015, Annexure P-5, pp.60-66)
people (iii) “Bones of horse have been reported from Lothal, having been Surkotada, Kalibangan and several other sites. aware of Terracotta figurines of the horse have been found at this animal. Nausharo and Lothal. But no unambiguous depiction of
Select the this animal on seal has so far been found.” — ‘Ancient correct answer India’, p.74, Makhan Lal, Old NCERT Text Book for using the code Class 11th, Print- 2002 (True copy of the “Ancient given below: India”, by Makhan Lal, Old NCERT Text Book for Class
11th, p.74 only, dated 2002, Annexure P-6, pp. 67-68) (a) 1 Only
(iv) ...The metals known to the Rigvedic Aryans were gold, (b) 2 and 3 copper or bronze, and perhaps iron. The Indus people Only have left no trace of iron; they used silver more (c) 1 and 3 commonly than gold, and their utensils and vessels Only 'were made of stone — a relic of the Neolithic age —
(d) 1, 2 and as well as of copper and bronze. The weapons of
3 offence were almost the same in both the 'ages, but
the defensive helmet and coat of mail, known to the 19
Rigvedic people, were not a feature of the Indus
civilisation. It appears from the numerous seals
discovered at Mohenjo-daro that the bull was their
most important animal, but during the Rigvedic period
the cow takes its place. The horse was unfamiliar to
the Indus valley people, whereas the Rigvedic Aryans
had domesticated it.”- by Rama Shankar Tripathi,
History of Ancient India, Publication Year:2014(True
Copy of the “History of Ancient India”, Motilal Banarasi
Dass Publishers, Rama Shankar Tripathi, p.39 only,
dated 2014, Annexure P-7, pp. 69-70)
(v) Terracotta horse figurine, excavated from an Indus
Valley Civilisation Site, at National Museum, Delhi
(True copy of the Terracotta of Horse at National
Museum, New Delhi, dated 2017, Annexure P-8, p.71)
(vi) “Horse bones have also been discovered at Surkotada,
indicating use of the animal” — ‘Harappan Civilization:
An Analysis in Modern Context’, by Deep Raj Gupta,
The Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, News
Letter (True copy of the “Harappan Civilization: An
Analysis in Modern Context” by Deep Raj Gupta,
Source: http://ignca.nic.in/nl002308.html, dated 2017,
Annexure P-9, pp.72-77)
(vii) “The Harrapan people may have known of the 20
horse....” — ‘The Wonder that was India’, p.18, by A.L
Basham, Oxford Publications, 2016 (True copy of the
“The Wonder that was India” by A.L. Basham, Picador
Publication, pp.17-18, dated 2016, Annexure P-10,
pp.78-81)
(viii) “The use of horse is not yet firmly established.” —
‘History, Higher Secondary, First Year’, p.20, Tamil
Nadu Text Book for Class 11th, 2016 (True copy of the
Tamil Nadu State Government Publication, Class 11,
p.20, dated 2017, Annexure P-11, pp.82-84)
(ix) “The remains of the horse have been reported from
Surakotada, situated on the west coast of Gujarat, and
belong to around 2000 B.C., but it is clear that this
animal was not in regular use in Harrapan times.” —
‘Ancient Indian History’, RS Sharma p.38-39, NCERT
Text Book for Class 11th, 1990 (True copy of the Old
NCERT, 11th Class, Ancient India by RS Sharma,
pp.38-39, dated 1990, Annexure P-12, pp.85-89)
(x) “The remains of skeletons prove that the humped bull,
buffalo, camel were domesticated. There are some
doubts about the horse.” — ‘Advanced History of
India’, p.19, RC Majumdar, Laxmi Publications Pvt. Ltd.
2016 (True Copy of R.C. Majumdar (Laxmi Publications
Pvt Ltd) Advanced History of India, p.19, dated 2016, 21
Annexure P-13, pp.90-92)
Q3. At one of Answer 1: (a) Bhavnagar, because: the places in (i) “...Because of its unique position (nearness to the India, if you Tropic of cancer), Gujrat experiences very high tide; stand on the the highest anywhere along the Indian coast. Because seashore and of the funnel shape and the semi enclosed nature at watch the sea, the head, the tidal height increases tremendously in you will find the upstream. The mean tidal elevation during spring is that the 4.7 m at Mahva Bandar which rises to 6.5 m at seawater Gopnath Point and 10.2 metres at Bhavnagar. The recedes from maximum spring tide recorded at Bhavnagar is 12.5 m the shoreline a which is second only to that of highest tide recorded few kilometres anywhere in the world (around 17 m at the Bay of and comes Fundi on Newfoundland coast of Canada). Because of back to the the high tidal amplitude, especially in the upper gulf, it shore, twice a has huge inter tidal expanses of 1.5 to 5 km, perhaps day, and you the widest along the Indian coast…” — ‘Critical Habitat can actually Information System for Gulf of Khambhat, Gujarat’, walk on the p.5, Department of Ocean Development, Government sea floor when of India, 2002 (True Copy of “Critical Habitat the water Information System for Gulf of Khambhat, Gujarat”, recedes. This Department of Ocean Development, Government of unique India, p.5 only, dated 2002, Annexure P-14, pp.93-94) phenomenon is (ii) “Nishkalank Mahadev Temple, Koliyak is located at a 22 seen at: distance of about 23 km to the east of Bhavnagar. It
has to be noted that the place gets inundated under a) Bhavnagar the tide.” — Article at Official Website, Government of b) Bheemuni Gujarat (True Copy of Gujarat Government website patnam details on Bhavnagar: c) Chandipur https://bhavnagardp.gujarat.gov.in/bhavnagar/english
/jillavishe/historical-places/nishkalank-mahadev.htm, d) Nagapattin dated 2017, Annexure P-15, p.95) am
(iii) Tidal tables for Bhavnagar (Page 16-17,
http://www.incois.gov.in/documents/IMD%20Training
_SRINIVAS_INCOIS_tides.pdf) (True copy of the ‘Tidal
tables for Bhavnagar, INCOIS, Hyderabad’
http://www.incois.gov.in/documents/IMD%20Training
_SRINIVAS_INCOIS_tides.pdf, pp.16-17, dated 2014,
Annexure P-16, pp.96-97)
Answer 2: (c) Chandipur, because:
(i) “Unlike other beaches, the sea water here recedes
away from the shore line about five km twice a day,
an unusual phenomenon, rarely found anywhere. You
can see the sea literally vanishing before your eyes
and also watch it coming back rhythmically at regular
intervals, as if playing hide and seek…”—
http://odishatourism.gov.in/?q=node/97, Official
Website, Government of Odisha (True copy of the, 23
Information on Chandipur,
“http://odishatourism.gov.in/?q=node/97”
Official Website, Government of Odisha, dated 2017,
Annexure P-17, pp.98-101)
Inference:
(i) There are three basic tidal patterns occur along the
Earth’s major shorelines. In general, most areas
have two high tides and two low tides each day.
When the two highs and the two lows are about the
same height, the pattern is called a semi- daily or
semidiurnal tide. If the high and low tides differ in
height, the pattern is called a mixed semidiurnal
tide. Some rare areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico,
have only one high and one low tide each day. This
is called a diurnal tide.
(ii) Hence, the assertion in the question that semi-
diurnal or mixed semi-diurnal tide is unique at a
single place in India is factually incorrect. Most of
the places on the Indian Coast line experience
semi-diurnal or mixed semi-diurnal coastline.
(iii) The evidences clearly prove that sea water recedes
twice a day for kilometres and people can walk on
the sea floor at both Bhavanagar and Chandipur. 24
Hence, the answer to this question can be both
option (a) and option (c)
Q4. For In this question, none of the answers are correct. election to the Answer (a) is clearly not correct because a foreign Lok Sabha, a citizen residing in India cannot file nomination. nomination Answer (b) is not correct because candidates’ paper can be domicile/residence is immaterial for him to file filed by: nomination from a constituency. Present Prime Minister a) Anyone Hon. Mr Narendra Modi filed nomination, and is elected, residing from the Constituency of Varanasi, UP, even when His in India. Honour has never been a resident there. b) A Answer (c) is not correct because not “Any citizen “of resident India can file nomination. Age requirement is to be met, of the i.e. she/he needs to be 25 years or above. constitue Answer (d) is not correct for the same reasons as ncy from answer (c). which the
election
is to be
contested
. c) Any
citizen of 25
India
whose
name
appears
in the
electoral
roll of a
constitue
ncy. d) Any
citizen of
India.
UPSC has no Grievance Redressal Mechanism
4. Among others, petitioner nos. 1-9, 11, 14, 15, and 18 made
representations to UPSC in respect of the questions and answers.
These representations are at (True copy of the Email
representations from Petitioners no. 1-9, 11, 14, 15, and 18 made
to UPSC, dated 2017, Annexure P-18, pp.102-116). UPSC has
given identical replies to all such representations. One such
identical reply received by petitioner no.3 is asunder:
“I am directed to refer to your email dated the 8th August
2017 on the above cited subject and to say that the 26
Questions and the corresponding Answer Keys of the Civil
Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2017 were prepared by
the different panels of experts. Subsequently, different sets
of experts reviewed the questions and the corresponding
answer keys on completion of examination.”
5. Fact is that UPSC has no Grievance Redressal Cell. The
abovementioned responses are a novelty, produced by the
reception desk at the Head Office in Delhi, as per institutional
instructions.
6. UPSC is responsible for conducting selection process for several
Class A Government posts, e.g. Indian Administrative
Service(IAS), National Defence Academy(NDA), Combined Defence
Services(CDS), Indian Engineering Services(IES), etc.
7. Roughly 30 lakh candidates appear yearly for various exam
conducted by UPSC. There is single feedback email namely
“[email protected]” and 4 Facilitation Counter Phone
Numbers (011-23098543 / 23385271 / 23381125 / 23098591).
Perhaps this is a ‘Grievance Redressal Cell’ as per UPSC. Petitioner
is confident that aforesaid gospel truth replies, redundant as they
are, are generated as saving grace by the UPSC after the issue
was raised in the said WP(C) 564/2017. It is unlikely that the
UPSC has ever responded to any student before WP(C) 564 of
2017 was filed. 27
UPSC Errors in the Past
8. In Writ Petition (Civil) 564 of 2017, which dealt with the same
issue, UPSC has replied on dated 31.7.2017 asunder:
“All the questions in both the papers were duly verified,
validated, and re-validated by panels of eminent subject
experts. The questions in both the papers are not ambiguous
and are capable of having only one answer.”
9. This is the stock argument of UPSC. If this is to be accepted, it
means that UPSC declares itself an authority beyond criticism.
Almost every year UPSC has made some inadvertent error in the
examination process — from wrong questions, to ambiguous
questions, to wrong answer keys, wrong Hindi/English translation of
questions, etc. The above table explains 4 problem questions from
2017 Examinations; below table explains 2 problem questions from
2016 and 2011 Examinations, as an example:
Civil Service As per the UPSC answer Key the correct answer is
Preliminary option (c) which is incorrect. (True copy of the
Examination 2016 Official Answer Key of Civil Services Preliminary
(True copy of the Examination 2016, dated 2016, Annexure P-20,
Question No.8, Set pp.118-119)
A of Civil Services Statement 1 is wrong which UPSC has considered as Preliminary right. 28
Examination 2016., UPSC has considered International Finance dated 2016, Set A, Corporation as an arm of “World Bank” but in fact
Annexure P-19, International Finance Corporation(IFC) is part of the p.117): “WORLD BANK GROUP”. “World Bank” and “World
Bank Group” are not identical. “World Bank” consists Q8. With reference of following two institutions only: to 'IFC Masala
Bonds', sometimes 1. International Bank for Reconstruction and seen in the news, Development(IBRD) which of the 2. International development Association (IDA) statements given While “World Bank Group” Consists of following 5 below is/are institutions: correct?
1. International Bank for Reconstruction and 1. The International Development(IBRD) Finance
Corporation, 2. International development Association (IDA)
which offers 3. International Financial Corporation(IFC) these bonds, is
an arm of the 4. Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency(MIGA)
World Bank. 5. International Centre for Settlement of Investment
2. They are the Disputes(ICSID)
rupee- So International Finance Corporation is not part of denominated World Bank as it is included in “WORLD BANK bonds and are a GROUP.” only. This is as per the Official document 29
source of debt from the website of International Finance
financing for the Corporation explaining that it is part of World Bank
public and Group (True copy of the Official document from the
private sector website of International Finance Corporation:
http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/corp_ext_cont Select the correct ent/ifc_external_corporate_site/about+ifc_new, answer using the dated 2017, Annexure P-21, p.120), and information code given below. available at the World Bank Official website (True (a) 1 only copy of the World Bank Official website:
(b) 2 only http://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are, dated
2017, Annexure P-22, pp.121-122) (c) Both 1 and
2
(d) Neither 1
nor 2
Civil Services As per the UPSC Official answer key the correct
Preliminary answer is option (d) i.e. all the three statements are
Examination 2011 correct. (True copy of the Official Answer Key, Civil
(Set A) (True copy Services Preliminary Examination 2011, Set A, dated of the Civil Services 2011, Annexure P-24, pp.124-125)
Preliminary But the correct answer is option (c) Examination 2011 ‘District Planning Committees’ is under 74th Q.11, Set A., dated Constitutional Amendment Act and nowhere 2011, Annexure P- 30
23, p.123) mentioned in 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act.
Q11. The 73rd Amendment Act (True copy of the
Constitution Constitutional 73rd Amendment Act, dated 2017,
(Seventy-Third Annexure P-25, pp.126-144)
Amendment) Act. Constitutional 74th Amendment Act provides Article 1992, which aims at 243ZD for Committee for district planning. promoting the “(1) There shall be constituted in every State at the Panchayati Raj district level a District Planning Committee to Institutions in the consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats country provides for and the Municipalities in the district and to prepare which of the a draft development plan for the district as a following? whole. 1. Constitution of (2) The Legislature of a State may, by law, make District Planning provision with respect to- (a) the composition of Committees. the District Planning Committees; (b) the manner 2. State Election in which the seats in such Committees shall be Commissions to filled” (True copy of the Constitutional 74th conduct all Amendment Act, dated 2017, Annexure P-26, panchayat pp.145-166) elections.
3. Establishment of
State Finance 31
Commissions.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2
only
(c) 2 and 3
only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
10. In the continuation of the above examples, in UPSC Mains
Examination 2016 the topic for essay writing was — ‘If
development is not engendered, it is endangered’. This was
ambiguous. The word ‘engendered’ could mean, one, ‘inclusive of
all genders’, or two, ‘to give rise to something ‘. UPSC paid no
heed to the grievances of the students, until a Member of
Parliament, Dr Shahi Tharoor (True copy of the Letter from UPSC
to Mr. Shashi Tharoor for UPSC CS Mains Essay 2016, dated 2016,
Annexure P-27, pp.167-168) wrote to UPSC on the request of the
students. It was this letter and intense public embarrassment that 32
forced UPSC to admit its mistake, and assess students writing
essays with either interpretation of the topic.
Case Law on the Issue
11. Kanpur University v. Samir Gupta, (1983) 4 SCC 309, held:
“15. The findings of the High Court raise a question of great
importance to the student community. Normally, one would
be inclined to the view, especially if one has been a paper
setter and an examiner, that the key answer furnished by the
paper setter and accepted by the University as correct, should
not be allowed to be challenged. One way of achieving it is
not to publish the key answer at all. If the University had not
published the key answer along with the result of the test, no
controversy would have arisen in this case. But that is not a
correct way of looking at these matters which involve the
future of hundreds of students who are aspirants for
admission to professional courses. If the key answer were
kept secret in this case, the remedy would have been worse
than the disease because, so many students would have had
to suffer the injustice in silence...”
12. UPSC and other State Public Service Commissions have similar
status and mandate under Article 320(1) of the constitution of
India. If other State public service commissions are releasing the
answer key before Mains examination and are inviting objections 33 for the answer key, what stops UPSC from following the same procedure? At (True copy of the Compilation of Notices,
Advertisements released from various State Public Service
Commissions regarding Objections over Answer keys and Revised
Answer Key release subsequently, dated 2017, Annexure P-28, pp.169-175), is the evidences of state public service commission inviting the objections for the released answer key. Inviting
Objections for the answer key and releasing the answer key before Mains examination will only ensure that no one will file frivolous litigation. In the absence of such a mechanism and in case of a genuine objection, one has to unnecessarily spend time and resources on litigation. Transparency and Accountability are fundamental to governance of any institution and especially to a constitutional body like UPSC. It is considered to be the watchdog of merit system and it should be a prime example of instilling public faith in recruitment. Ignoring to resolve the issue at a very early stage will only create unnecessary doubts on the transparency and accountability of the process. Grievance redressal is key factor in effective, efficient and speedy governance. Not acknowledging grievances will invite litigations and delay the governance. Following the procedure to release answer key immediately after preliminary examination and inviting objections for the answer key will ensure both transparency and accountability in the process. Most importantly, it will create less 34
opportunities for litigations. It will save the time and resources of
the candidates, UPSC and this Hon’ble Court.
13. In Rajesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar (2013) 4 SCC 690 held:
“2. Application of an erroneous "Model Answer Key" for
evaluation of answer scripts of candidates appearing in a
competitive examination is bound to lead to erroneous results
and an equally erroneous inter-se merit list of such candidates…
5. In the writ petition filed by the aggrieved candidates, a Single
Judge of the High Court referred the "Model Answer Key" to
experts. The model answers were examined by two experts, Dr.
(Prof.) C.N. Sinha, and Prof. KSP Singh, associated with NIT,
Patna, who found several such answers to be wrong. In
addition, two questions were also found to be wrong while two
others were found to have been repeated. Question No. 100
was also found to be defective as the choices in the answer key
were printed but only partially… 15. The writ petitioners, it is
evident, on a plain reading of the writ petition questioned not
only the process of evaluation of the answer scripts by the
Commission but specifically averred that the “model answer
key” which formed the basis for such evaluation was erroneous.
One of the questions that, therefore, fell for consideration by
the High Court directly was whether the “model answer key”
was correct. The High Court had aptly referred that question to
experts in the field who, as already noticed above, found the 35
“model answer key” to be erroneous in regard to as many as 45 questions outof a total of 100 questions contained in ‘A’ series question paper. Other errors were also found to which we have referred earlier. If the key which was used for evaluating the answer sheets was itself defective the result prepared on the basis of the same could be no different. The Division Bench of the High Court was, therefore, perfectly justified in holding that the result of the examination insofar as the same pertained to
‘A’ series question paper was vitiated. This was bound to affect the result of the entire examination qua every candidate whether or not he was a party to the proceedings. It also goes without saying that if the result was vitiated by the application of a wrong key, any appointment made on the basis thereof would also be rendered unsustainable… 19. The submissions made by Mr Rao are not without merit. Given the nature of the defect in the answer key the most natural and logical way of correcting the evaluation of the scripts was to correct the key and get the answer scripts re-evaluated on the basis thereof.
There was, in the circumstances, no compelling reason for directing a fresh examination to be held by the Commission especially when there was no allegation about any malpractice, fraud or corrupt motives that could possibly vitiate the earlier examination to call for a fresh attempt by all concerned. The process of re-evaluation of the answer scripts with reference to the correct key will in addition be less expensive apart from 36 being quicker. The process would also not give any unfair advantage to anyone of the candidates on account of the time lag between the examination earlier held and the one that may have been held pursuant to the direction of the High Court.
Suffice it to say that the re-evaluation was and is a better option, in the facts and circumstances of the case… 20. That brings us to the submission by Mr Rao that while re-evaluation is a good option not only to do justice to those who may have suffered on account of an erroneous key being applied to the process but also to the writ petitioners, Respondents 6 to 18 in the matter of allocating to them their rightful place in the merit list. Such evaluation need not necessarily result in the ouster of the appellants should they be found to fall below the “cut-off” mark in the merit list… 21. There is considerable merit in the submission of Mr Rao. It goes without saying that the appellants were innocent parties who have not, in any manner, contributed to the preparation of the erroneous key or the distorted result.
There is no mention of any fraud or malpractice against the appellants who have served the State for nearly seven years now. In the circumstances, while inter se merit position may be relevant for the appellants, the ouster of the latter need not be an inevitable and inexorable consequence of such a re- evaluation. The re-evaluation process may additionally benefit those who have lost the hope of an appointment on the basis of a wrong key applied for evaluating the answer scripts. Such of 37
those candidates as may be ultimately found to be entitled to
issue of appointment letters on the basis of their merit shall
benefit by such re-evaluation and shall pick up their
appointments on that basis according to their inter se position
on the merit list.”
14. Vikas Pratap Singh vs. State of Chhattisgarh (2013) 14 SCC 494
held:
“4. In the meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police and the
respondent Board received complaints in respect of
defects/mistakes in several questions of the main examination
papers. The respondent Board constituted an expert
committee to inquire into the complaints. Upon examination
of the two papers, two sets of defects were noticed: (a) eight
questions in paper II itself were incorrect; and (b) model
answers for evaluation of answer scripts to another eight
questions of paper II were incorrect. The respondent Board
directed for deletion of the first set of 8 questions in paper II
and preparation of correct model answers key for objective
questions in paper I and II and accordingly carried out
revaluation of answer scripts of the candidates. On 27-6-2009
a new revised merit list was published wherein the names of
twenty-six appellants did not figure at all and accordingly, the
appointment of the appellants were cancelled by the
respondent State.” 38
15. In Kanpur University v. Samir Gupta, (1983) 4 SCC 309 held:
“18. In a system of 'Multiple Choice Objective-type test', care
must be taken to see that questions having an ambiguous
import are not set in the papers. That kind of system of
examination involves merely the tick-marking of the correct
answer. It leaves no scope for reasoning or argument. The
answer is 'yes' or 'no'. That is why the questions have to be
clear and unequivocal. Lastly, if the attention of the University
is drawn to any defect in a key answer or any ambiguity in a
question set in the examination, prompt and timely decision
must be taken by the University to declare that the suspect
question will be excluded from the paper and no marks
assigned to it.”
16. Nafis Nawaz Khan and Ors. v. State of Bihar (2015) SCC OnLine
Pat 7219, held:
“36. In our considered view, the learned Single Judge has
rightly held that in a situation such as the present one,
wrongly framed questions should be deleted and the answer
sheets should be re-evaluated on the basis of remaining
questions. The view, taken by learned Single Judge, is not
only reasonable and rational view, it also ensures fair and
equal treatment to all candidates, who participate in such a
test, there being no disadvantage to any individual or undue 39 advantage to the other. We do not find any infirmity in the order under appeal passed by learned Single Judge… 39.
Keeping in mind that there has been numerous instances, where the questions have been found to be incorrect, giving rise to several litigations, we are compelled to issue general directions to the such statutory bodies or other agencies holding tests based on multiple-choice questions for the purpose of appointment to various posts under the State within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India or for the purpose of admission to various institutions managed or controlled by the State… 40. Having considered the matters in its entirety and in the interest of justice, we, therefore, direct as follows: (a) Immediately after a multiple- choice question test is held, it shall be obligatory for the
Committee or the Body, which conducts such a test, to undertake an exercise, before evaluating the answer-sheets, to ascertain whether the questions were correctly framed having definite answers. In case any objections are invited from the candidates and such objections are received, they must be looked into by a body of the experts, who would not only be required to ascertain whether the questions were correctly framed or not, but they would also be required to examine as to whether the model answers, prepared by the question-setter, are correct or not, for the purpose of correct 40
evaluation of answer-sheets; (b) If the structure of a question
is found to be incorrect or if the option suggested is found to
be incorrect or if there is any printing mistake of such a
nature that the correct answer cannot be ascertained or more
than one option is found to be correct, such a question must
be rejected and should not be allowed to be evaluated; (c) If,
after publication of result, despite due care, it is found that
the model key answer/answers suggested was/were
incorrect, leading to wrong evaluation, remedial measures
must be taken and answer-sheets must be revaluated with
correct model answers."
17. In Manish Ujwal and Ors. Vs. Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati
University and Ors., (2005) 13 SCC 744, held:
“9. The High Court has committed a serious illegality in
coming to the conclusion that "it cannot be said with certainty
that answers to six questions given in the key answers were
erroneous and incorrect". As already noticed, the key answers
are palpably and demonstrably erroneous. In that view of the
matter, the student community, whether the appellants or
interveners or even those who did not approach the High
Court or this Court, cannot be made to suffer on account of
errors committed by the University. For the present, we say
no more because there is nothing on record as to how this 41
error crept up in giving the erroneous key answers and who
was negligent. At the same time, however, it is necessary to
note that the University and those who prepare the key
answers have to be very careful and abundant caution is
necessary in these matters for more than one reasons. We
mention few of those; first and paramount reason being the
welfare of the student and a wrong key answer can result in
the merit being made a casualty. One can well understand
the predicament of a young student at the threshold of his or
her career if despite giving correct answer, the student
suffers as a result of wrong and demonstrably erroneous key
answer; the second reason is that the courts are slow in
interfering in education matters which, in turn, casts a higher
responsibility on the University while preparing the key
answers; and thirdly, in cases of doubt, benefit goes in favour
of the University and not in favour of the students. If this
attitude of casual approach in providing key answer is
adopted by concerned persons, directions may have to be
issued for taking appropriate action, including the disciplinary
action, against those responsible for wrong and demonstrably
erroneous key answers but we refrain from issuing such
directions in the present case.”
18. In Pankaj vs State of Jammu and Kashmir & Ors (2008) 4 SCC 273
the Hon’ble Supreme court held: 42
“8. The learned Single Judge considered the rival contentions of the parties, perused the relevant record and the affidavit filed on behalf of the Commission as well as two separate affidavits filed by two Members of the Commission who dissented in the final process undertaken by the Commission and issued following directions: "For the reasons stated above and in the facts and circumstances of the case, I allow all the writ petitions and direct the Public Service Commission as follows: (a) To delete the following questions of each paper of
"A" series and their corresponding questions in "B", "C" and
"D" series and distribute their marks pro-rata to remaining questions of the papers: (i) to (xi); (b) To separately redraw the merit of all the unselected candidates for the Main
Examination in respect of compulsory paper of General
Studies; (c) To redraw the merit of all the unselected candidates for the Main Examination as per direction (a) in respect of said ten optional subjects; (d) To separately redraw a combined merit list of such candidates who have appeared in the compulsory paper of General Studies and optional subject-papers, as mentioned in direction (a); (e)
Also, to redraw a combined merit of compulsory paper of
General Studies and optional papers of those candidates, in whose optional subject-papers there was no discrepancy, i.e.,
12 remaining optional subjects, which include the subject- 43
papers of Animal Husbandry, Botany, Indian History and
Physics, and who have not been short-listed; (f) To conduct
the special Main Examination of all such candidates, whose
such combined redrawn merit is equal to or more than the
merit of last short-listed candidate, in accordance with the
procedure prescribed by the Examination Rules; (g) To
complete the whole exercise within a period of six weeks; (h)
To pay an amount of rupees one lac and thirty thousand as
costs to the writ petitioners, at the rate of rupees ten
thousands in each writ petition, to be shared by them
equally...".
19. In Mrunal Patel Case, 2013 SCC Online CIC 3512 it was held:
“5. We have carefully considered facts of the case. If there is
nothing like any model answer paper in material form, we
cannot obviously compel the CPIO to produce one. However,
in regard to the answer keys for the Preliminary Examination
2011 and 2012, we would tend to allow the disclosure of this
information because, in our opinion, this examination has no
bearing on the entire Civil Services Examination process being
of a qualifying nature. The marks obtained by a candidate in
this examination are not added to the marks in the
succeeding stages of the examination to determine the status
of the candidate. Therefore, it is entirely a standalone 44
examination. In the light of this, we direct the CPIO to
provide the answer keys for the Preliminary Examination 2011
and 2012 to the Appellant within 10 working days of receiving
this order.”
20. In Abhijit Sen & Ors. v. State of UP & Ors., (1984) 2 SCC 319
held:
“4. It is a case of a tricky question being set by the paper
setter where one of the essential aspects namely the range
has not been indicated anywhere in the question. The
appellant ticked Alternative No. 4 as being the correct answer
to the question...”
Petitioners’ Solution
21. In the circumstances, any apprehension that this petition is likely
to affect adversely those finding themselves through to the merit
exam is misplaced. The only effect that this petition will have is
that an additional number of students who have been wrongly
excluded on account of the faulty questions and answers will be
allowed to participate in the main exams to be held from
28.10.2017. It is not the intention of the petitioners to delay or
stall the examination.
22. In the alternative, it is prayed in this petition that once it is
decided that a certain number of students have been wrongly 45
excluded, that they be permitted to attempt the preliminary
examination in the next year i.e. in June 2018 and that the
present unsuccessful attempt not be counted towards the total
permissible attempts limit.
23. Hence, this petition is being filed on the main ground that the
petitioners should not be made to suffer on account of a mistake
made by the UPSC. That UPSC is bound to make a disclosure of
the answer key and justify the questions and answers said by
UPSC to be correct. Once it is determined by this Court that UPSC
has, indeed, made mistakes, this Court may pass appropriate
orders rectifying the mistakes. UPSC owes it to the students to be
fair and transparent. In writ petition 564 of 2017 which was
dismissed by the Supreme Court (True copy of the order of in Writ
Petition 564 of 2017 which was dismissed by the Supreme Court,
dated 2017, Annexure P-29, pp.176-177) the UPSC neither
disclosed the answer key nor the position of the student in the
merit list. The UPSC blocked the consideration of the case on
merits by adopting a non-transparent stand and by stating that
the petitioner in that case had not made a representation against
the questions and answers. In the present instance, the students
have made such a representation. To the grievances raised by the
students UPSC has responded in the most mechanical manner.
(True copy of the email replies from the UPSC in response to 46
representation email sent by petitioners, dated 2017, Annexure P-
30, pp.178-183.)
24. UPSC, a constitutional body under Article 320, is entrusted with
conducting free and fair examination for the selection to various
services. Here, UPSC has failed to do the same, violating
fundamental rights of petitioners inter alia, Article 14 and 16(c).
25. No other petition seeking similar relief has been filed by the
petitioners in this Hon. Court or any other Court of law.
Prayer
26. It is, therefore, prayed that Your Lordships may be pleased to:
a) issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order
or direction to the UPSC to disclose the answer key as well as
the standing of the petitioners in the merit list with the
answers given by them to the questions in the preliminary
exam;
b) issue an order directing the formation of an Independent
Expert Committee appointed by this court to make a report to
this Court, should Your Lordships, prima facie come to the
conclusion that the petitioners are right in their contention
that the questions/answers were ambiguous or structured
wrongly and that the key to the correct answers was wrong 47
or that the questions corresponded to two answers both of
them correct;
c) issue an order directing UPSC that the concerned students be
allowed to participate in the main exams scheduled for 28
October 2017, if the Expert Committee gives an opinion partly
or wholly in favour of the petitioners; and
d) any other relief deemed fit and proper in the circumstance of
the present case.
Drawn by: CHOUDHARY Ali Zia Kabir, Adv. Filed by:
Drawn on: ___.9.2017
Filed on: (Satya Mitra)
Advocate for the Petitioner 48
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Civil Original Jurisdiction
Writ Petition (Civil) No. of 2017
(under Article 32 of the Constitution of India)
In the matter of:
Vishal Rathi & Ors. …Petitioner
Versus
Union Public Service Commission …Respondent
Affidavit
I, Vishal Rathi S/o Gurumel Singh Rathi, age about 29 years, R/o
House No. 960 Village Bhopa, Post Bhopa, Uttar Pradesh 251308, presently at Delhi, do, hereby, solemnly affirm and declare as under:
1. That I am the petitioner no.1 in the above captioned petition and
accompanying applications, and am well conversant with the facts
and circumstances of this case, hence, competent to swear this
affidavit. Contents of the petition and accompanying applications
are not repeated herein for the sake of brevity but the same be
read as part and parcel of this petition.
2. I have read the contents of the synopsis and list of dates on pages
B to _____, as well as the contents of the petition from paragraph 1
to _____ at page nos. _____ to _____ and accompanying 49
applications as shown and explained to me, and I say that I have
understood the contents thereof, which are true and correct to the
best of my knowledge and belief.
3. The annexures to the petition/applications are true and correct
copies of the respective originals.
Deponent
Verified at Delhi on this the _____ day of September 2017 that the contents of the above affidavit are true and correct to my knowledge and belief.
Deponent 50
Appendix
The Constitution of India, 1949
Article 14 Equality before law: The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
(True Copy) 51
Annexure P-1
NCERT 9th Class (Democratic Politics), Chapter 6: Democratic Rights
(Page 109), dated 2017
...victims and punishment to the violators. We have already seen in
Chapter Five that the judiciary in our country is independent of the government and the parliament. We also noted that our judiciary is very powerful and can do whatever is needed to protect the rights of the citizens.
In case of any violation of a Fundamental Right the aggrieved person can go to a court for remedy. But now, any person can go to court against the violation of the Fundamental Right, if it is of social or public interest. It is called Public Interest Litigation (PIL). Under the PIL any citizen or group of citizens can approach the Supreme Court or a High
Court for the protection of public interest against a particular law or action of the government. One can write to the judges even on a postcard. The court will take up the matter if the judges find it in public interest.
Activity
Is there a State Human Rights Commission in your state? Find out about its activities.
Write a petition to the NHRC if you know any instances of human rights violation in your area 52
Expanding Scope of Rights
We began this chapter by discussing the significance of rights. In much of the chapter we have focused only on Fundamental Rights in the
Constitution. You might think that Fundamental Rights granted by the
Constitution are the only rights citizen have. This is not true. While
Fundamental Rights are the source of all rights, our Constitution and law offers a wider range of rights. Over the years, the scope of rights has expanded.
Sometimes it leads to expansion in the legal rights that the citizen can enjoy. From time to time, the courts gave judgments to expand the scope of rights. Certain rights like right to freedom of press, right to information, and right to education are derived from the Fundamental
Rights. Now school education has become a right for Indian citizens.
The governments are responsible for providing free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of 14 years. Parliament has enacted a law giving the right to information to the citizens. This Act was made under the Fundamental Right to freedom of thought and expression. We have a right to seek information from government offices. Recently the Supreme Court has expanded the meaning of the right to life to include the right to food. Also, rights are not limited only to Fundamental Rights as enumerated in the Constitution. Constitution provides many more rights, which may not be Fundamental Rights. For example, the right to property is not a Fundamental Right but it is a 53 constitutional right. Right to vote in elections is an important constitutional right.
Sometimes the expansion takes place in what is called human rights.
These are universal moral clams that may or may not have been recognised by law. In that sense, these claims are not rights going by the definition that we presented earlier. With the expansion of democracy all over the world, there is greater pressure on governments to accept these claims...
(True Copy) 54
Annexure P-2
New NCERT, 11th Class (Introduction to Indian Constitution), Page 66-
67, dated 2017
Chapter3: Election and Representation (Page 66-67)
Check your progress
The proportion of Muslims in the population of India is about 13.5 per cent. But the number of Muslim MPs in the Lok Sabha has usually been less than 6 per cent. less than half of their share in population. A similar situation prevails in most State Assemblies. Three students drew different conclusions from this fact. Write down whether and why you agree or disagree with each of them.
Hilal: This demonstrates the unfairness of the FPTP system. We should have opted for PR system.
Arif: This shows the wisdom of granting reservations to SC and ST.
What is needed is a reservation of seats for Muslims on the same lines as for SC and ST.
Saba: There is no point in talking about Muslims as a whole. Muslim women are not going to get any share in any of these systems. We need a separate quota for Muslim women.
Universal franchise and right to contest 55
Apart from laying down a method of elections, the Constitution answers two basic questions about elections: Who are the voters? Who can contest elections? In both these respects our Constitution follows the well established democratic practices.
You already know that democratic elections require that all adult citizens of the country must be eligible to vote in the elections. This is known as universal adult franchise. In many countries, citizens had to fight long battles with the rulers to get this right. In many countries. women could get this right very late and only after struggle. One of the important decisions of the framers of the Indian Constitution was to guarantee every adult citizen in India, the right to vote.
Till 1989, an adult Indian meant an Indian citizen above the age of 21.
An amendment to the Constitution in 1989 reduced the eligibility age to 18. Adult franchise ensures that all citizens are able to participate in the process of selecting their representative. This is consistent with the principle of equality and non-discrimination that we studied in the chapter on rights. Many people thought and many think so today that giving the right to vote to everyone irrespective of educational qualification was not right. But our Constitution makers had a firm belief in the ability and worth of all adult citizens as equals in the matter of deciding what is good for the society, the country and for their own constituencies. What is true of the right to vote is also true of right to contest election. All citizens have the right to stand for 56 election and become the representative of the people. However. there are different minimum age requirements for contesting elections. For example. In order to stand for Lok Sabha or Assembly election, a candidate must be at least 25 years old. There are some other restrictions also. For instance. there is a legal provision that a person who has undergone imprisonment for two or more years for some offence is disqualified from contesting elections. But there are no restrictions of income, education or class or gender on the right to contest elections. In this sense. our system of election is open to all citizens.
Independent Election Commission
Several efforts have been made in India to ensure the free and fair election system and process. The most important among these is the
Why is universal adult franchise compared to an elephant? Is it unmanageable? Or is it like the story in which everyone describes the elephant only by its part...
(True Copy) 57
Annexure P-3
Oxford Handbook on Indian Constitution, by Sujit Choudhry, Oxford
University Press, 2016, page 88
After all, India’s status as an inclusive, participatory democracy forms part of the basic scheme of the Constitution, and it is questionable whether excluding a large class of people from the vote is consistent with that scheme.
The next electoral case was Lily Thomas v Union of India, in which a two-judge bench interpreted constitutional provisions concerning the disqualifications for membership of Parliament and the State legislatures. Section 8(4) of the RPA gives sitting legislators a period of three months before disqualification operates, enabling them to appeal against their conviction. This statutory provision was challenged on the basis that it contravened Articles 102(1) and 191(1), dealing with the disqualifications for membership of Parliament and the State legislatures. Patnaik J adopted a highly textualist reading of the provisions, stating that their language made it clear that the disqualifications for sitting legislators and those who planned to contest elections had to be coextensive.
At issue before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court in the third electoral case was whether the rules governing the casting of ‘none-of- the-above’ votes, which in effect denied such votes of the benefit of secret ballot, violated the freedom of speech and expression. 58
Sathasivam CJ’s opinion was replete with references to the structure and scheme of the Constitution, of which free and fair elections is a cornerstone. He struck down the relevant rules on the basis that the right to cast a ‘none-of-the-above’ vote—which he mistakenly equated with a negative vote —was an essential part of the right to expression of a voter in a parliamentary democracy, which had to be recognised and given effect in the same manner as the right to cast a regular vote.
These three decisions produced an internally inconsistent and confusing electoral jurisprudence.
On the one hand, the right to vote is a statutory privilege, which can be given and taken away by ordinary legislative majorities. On the other hand, the right to secrecy in voting and the right to cast a negative vote are treated as fundamental rights based on the structure of the Constitution, and are immune from the ordinary political process. Franchise can be denied to a large section of society (as per
Jan Chaukidar), electoral disqualifications can be imposed liberally— albeit uniformly (as per Lily Thomas)—but those who have the vote must be able to cast an anonymous negative vote (People’s Union for
Civil Liberties).
In each of the three electoral cases, the Supreme Court ascribed a very specific role to itself—that of an institution which was entrusted 59 with ‘cleaning’ the political process. This emerges quite clearly from the following observations:
For democracy to survive, it is essential that the best available men should be chosen as people’s representatives for proper governance of the country. This can be best achieved through men of high moral and ethical values, who win the elections on a positive vote. Thus, in a vibrant democracy, the voter must be given an opportunity to choose none of the above (NOTA) button, which will indeed compel the political parties to nominate a sound candidate. This situation palpably tells us the dire need of negative voting. So, in order to fit into their version of the Court’s decision-making role, three benches of the
Supreme Court relied on different interpretive approaches (in two cases, textualism and in the third, structuralism) and produced doctrinally inconsistent jurisprudence. Sophisticated reasoning about the rights issues at stake before the Court, including whether it was proportionate to deny the vote to all prisoners or permissible to distinguish between sitting parliamentarians and future parliamentarians, became the unfortunate casualty of the Court’s self- conception.
Two judgments delivered by two-judge benches of the Supreme Court on the rights of sexual...
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Annexure P-4
National Institute of Open Schooling book: Ancient India, Course Code
315, Module-1 Lesson-3: Harappan Civilization, page 37, dated 2017
...animals there is no representation of horse on these. It has led many scholars to argue that horse was not known to the Harappan people though there are others who do not accept this argument. Besides various kinds of animals, the Harappan seals contain some signs in the
Harappan script which however has not been deciphered so far. The most famous of the seals is the one with a horned male deity represented on it. He has three heads and is sitting in a yogic posture surrounded by four animals viz elephant, tiger, rhinoceros and a buffalo. He has been identified by many scholars with the ancient form of the god Pashupati (Lord of beasts) though there are others who dispute this identification.
(True Copy) 61
Annexure P-5
A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, Print 2015 (Page 157-158)
...Given the area covered by the civilization, naturally there were regional variations in the plants grown by farmers. Wheat has been found at Mohenjodaro and Harappa; barley at Mohenjodaro, Harappa, and Kalibangan; and sesamum at Harappa. Harappa has also given evidence of watermelon seeds, peas, and dates. Rice occurs at
Harappa, Kalibangan, Lothal, and Rangpur. Millets have been identified at Harappa, Surkotada, and Shortughai. Grapes were known, so was henna (mehendi). Cotton may also have been grown. Detailed evidence of the plant economy of the early and mature Harappan phase is available from Balu (in Haryana) (Saraswat and Pokharia,
2001-02). The crop remains identified here included various types of barley wheat, rice, horse gram green gram, chickpea, field pea, grass pea, sesamum, melon, watermelon, date, grapes, and the earliest evidence of garlic. Apart from the wide range of cereals, pulses, vegetables, and fruits gown by the Harappans, another striking point is the similarity of the past and present plant economies in the various regions.
Modern cropping practices provide some clues to protohistoric patterns. Today, in Sindh, rainfall levels are low, but the Indus brings down flood waters and silt. The fertile land requires no deep 62 ploughing, irrigation or manuring. Sesamum and cotton were probably sown in June/July and reaped 'September/October, as kharif (summer) crops. Crops such as wheat and barley would have been own in
November and reaped in March/April as rabi (winter) crops. In Gujarat, rice is a kharif crop, and it must have been so in Harappan times as well. Reference has already been made to the discovery of a ploughed field at early Harappan levels at Kalibangan. The continuing use of the plough into the mature Harappan phase can be inferred. Terracotta models of ploughs at Bahawalpur and Banawali give further evidence of the use of this implement. The fact that no actual ploughs have survived is no doubt because they were made of wood.
Farmers must have built bunds (embankments) of mud or stone to divert river water, as they do today in areas like Baluchistan Irrigation canals have been found at Shortughai. Fairservis suggested that a well and associated drains at Allahdino may represent an irrigation system, but the evidence is from conclusive. Similarly, Leshnik's hypothesis that the dockyard at Lothal is actually an irrigation reservoir is not convincing. Even if the Harappans did dig canals in the alluvial plains, itwould be very difficult to identify them. However. H. P. Francfort
(1992) has identified remains of a 11-scale canal network in the
Haryana area, and some of the ancient canals traced in the Ghaggar-a plain may belong to the Harappan phase. 63
Bones of wild animals have been found at Harappan sites. These include many varieties of deer, pig boar, sheep, goat, ass (?), and pig.
Bones of tortoise and fish have also been found. Rhinoceros bones occur only at Amri. Although this animal is depicted on numerous seals and in terracotta figurines. Elephant and camel bones occur in very small quantities, although the elephant appears on seals. Tigers are represented often in figurines, leopards more rarely. Rabbits, peacocks, pigeons, ducks. monkeys. and wild fowl are represented in figurines and paintings on pottery. The Harappans exploited riverine and marine resources where these were available. At coastal sites in
Gujarat. molluscs provided an important protein-rich element in people's diet. The discovery of marine catfish bones at Harappa suggests that coastal communities may have traded in dried fish in inland cities.
Harappan sites have also yielded remains of domesticated animals such as humped and hump less cattle, buffalo. sheep, and goat. Cattle and buffaloes were the most important domesticated animals. They would have been used for meat, milk and also as draught animals.
Goats and sheep could have been used for meat, wool, milk and as pack animals (they are still used to carry loads of salt and grain in some of the Himalayan stretches). Dog figurines suggest the domestication of this animal. 64
The issue of the horse is controversial and hinges on the stratigraphic context in which the remains have been found and the identification of the species they belong to. For instance, it is not easy to ascertain whether the bones in question belong to the half-ass
(Equushemionuskhur) or domesticated horse (Equuscaballus). Horse remains have been reported at Harappa. Lothal, Surkotada, Kuntasi, and Kalibangan, and at superficial levels at Mohenjodaro. Sandor
Bokonyi(1997) examined the equid bone samples from Surkotada and concluded that at least six of them probably belonged to the true horse. His conclusions were challenged by Meadow and Patel (1997).
Brigadier Ross (1946) reported horse teeth at pre-Harappan levels at
Rana Ghundai, but this 'identification was questioned by Zeuner
(1963). While horse bones may not be completely absent at Harappan sites. They are not prolific either.
New Directions In Animal bones at Shikarpur
Shikarpur is a Harappan site in Kutch district in Gujarat. excavated by the Gujarat State Department of Archaeology in 1987-90. The excavation was a small one. It revealed an over 3 m thick deposit, of which the lower layers (layers 10-19) represent an early Harappan phase and the upper layers (layers 1-9) the mature Harappan phase.
The animal remains found at the site were sent to the Archaeozoology
Laboratory at Deccan College. Pune. The preliminary results of the detailed investigations by P. K. Thomas, P. P. Joglekar, Arati 65
Deshpande-Mukherjee, and S. J. Pawankar have given important information about the subsistence patterns of the Harappans in Gujarat
A total of 15.483 pieces of bone were unearthed in the excavations. It was possible to identify 53.46 per cent of them i.e. 8,267 fragments.
There were cut marks and signs of charring on some of the bones. indicating slaughtering and cooking. The faunal assemblage consisted of 47 species-23 mammals, 3 birds, 2 reptiles, 5 fish, 13 molluscs, and
1 crustacea. The wild animals included wild buffalo, nilgai, chowsingha, blackbuck gazelle, various kinds of deer, wild pig, wild ass, Jackal, hare, and rhinoceros. The domesticated animals included cattle, buffalo, sheep/goat, Horse, pig, and dog.
The bones of domesticated animals comprised over 85 per cent of the total faunal assemblage in both the early and mature Harappan phases. Cattle bones were most numerous. In the early Harappan phase 77.48 per cent of the bones were of cattle while in the mature
Harappan phase their percentage was 77.84 per cent. Sheep/goat bones (it is difficult to distinguish the two) amounted to 11.26 per cent of the early Harappan phase and were reduced to 4.63 per cent in the mature Harappan phase. Buffalo bones were 4.28 per cent and 4.61 per cent in the early and mature Harappan phases respectively. Dog bones were only found in the mature Harappan phase. and that too in very small quantities (0.116 per cent). Very few horse bones were 66 found (0.13 per cent). and these occur only in the mature Harappan phase.
The evidence shows that the consumption of meat of domesticated animals was an important part of the diet of the people of Shilcarpur.
The contribution of wild and aquatic animals varied considerably in different layers.
The analysis of bones and teeth showed that domesticated animals were killed at different ages. Most of the cattle and buffaloes lived up to the age of maturity—about 3 years—and were killed at various ages up to the age of about 8 years. The fact that some were older than 8 years suggests that they were also valued for secondary products and used for draught purposes. Sheep/ goats were killed at relatively younger ages—between 6 months to their respective ages of maturity. suggesting they were primarily reared for meat.
Towards the end of the mature Harappan phase at Shikarpur. there seems to have been an increase in the exploitation of wild animals. It is not clear whether this was the result of a decline in agricultural production, failure of rains. population pressure. or a combination of several such factors (Source Thomas et al.. 1995)
Harappan Crafts and Techniques
Earlier writings tended to contrast the plainness of Harappan artefacts with the opulence of their Egyptian and Mesopotamian counterparts. 67
Nowadays, the technological sophistication and beauty of some of the
Harappan artefacts are recognized. There is a great variety of standardized, mass-produced craft items at Harappan sites. The artefacts are far greater in quantity and range, and show greater technical finesse than those found in earlier cultural phases. While some sites specialized in the production of a single or a few items, others such as Harappa manufactured a wide range of goods. Craft activity was often localized in a certain part of the settlement.Ceramics include all items involving the heating of clay such as bricks, terracotta, and faience. The Harappan pottery reflects efficient mass-production. Pottery kilns were found at
Mohenjodaro. Harappa, Nausharo, and Chanhudaro. The pots were fired in funnel-shaped up-draft closed kilns, although open-firing kilns may also have been used. There is a great variety of pottery, including black-on- red, grey. buff and black-and-red wares. Most pots were wheel turned.
Both fine and coarse fabrics occur and their thickness varies. The typical
Harappan pottery is a fine, sturdy, wheel-made ware with a bright red slip, decorated with painted black designs. Polychrome painting is rare.
The red colour for the slip was made from red ochre (iron oxide, known as geru), while black was made by combining dark reddish-brown iron oxide with black manganese. Distinctive shapes include the dish-on- stand, vase with s-profile, small vessel with knobbed decoration, large slender-footed bowl, cylindrical perforated jar, and goblet with pointed foot. The decorative patterns range from simple horizontal lines to geometric patterns and pictorial motifs. Some of the designs such as fish scales, pipal leaves. and intersecting circles have their roots in the early 68
Harappan phase. Human figures are rare and crude. At the earliest levels of Mohenjodaro, a burnished grey ware with a dark purplish slip and vitreous glaze may represent one of the earliest examples of glazing in the world. Although there is a certain level of uniformity in pottery styles and techniques across the Harappan culture zone. there are also differences between regions...
(True Copy) 69
Annexure P-6
‘Ancient India’, page-74, Makhan Lal, Old NCERT Text Book for Class 11th,
Print 2002
...kodon, sanwa, and jowar were cultivated, as also peas and beans.
Remains of rice have been found mainly from Gujarat and Haryana areas.
Other crops include dates, varieties of legumes, sesame and mustard.
Fragments of cotton cloth found at Mohenjodaro and other sites show that cotton was also grown. Cotton has been found at Mehrgarh at least 2000 years before the mature phase of the Civilization. This is the oldest evidence of cotton in the world.
Agriculture was generally practiced along the river banks most of which were flooded during the summer and monsoons. The flood deposited every year fresh alluvial silt which is highly productive and for which no major furrowing and certainly no manures and irrigation are required. The cultivated field excavated at Kalibangan (period I) shows crisscross furrow- marks indicating that two crops were grown simultaneously. This method is followed even today in the Rajasthan, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
For tilling fields, wooden plough with a copper or wooden ploughshare was used. Terracotta models of the plough have been found at Mohenjodaro and
Banawali. Harvesting of crops would have been done with copper sickles as well as stone blades hafted in wood.
The range of animals domesticated by the Harappan people is quite large.
Bones of several animals have been found in excavations. Skeletal remains include sheep, goat, bull, buffalo, Elephant, camel, pig, dog and cat, which 70 were all domesticated. A large number of animal have been depicted on the seals. These include sheep, goat, humped bull, buffalo, elephant, etc.
Bones of wild animals like spotted deer, sambhar deer, hog deer, wild pig, etc. are also found which evidently were hunted for food. Several types of birds as well as fishes were also hunted for food. The bones of camels have been found in large number from various sites but the animal is not depicted on seals. Bones of horses have been reported from
Lothal, Surkotada, Kalibangan and several other sites.
Terracotta figurines of the horse have been found at Nausharo and
Lothal. But no unambiguous depiction of this animal on seal has so far been found.
Arts
A large variety of objects such as seals, stone statues, terracotta, etc. are superb examples of art activities. The most outstanding pieces are a yogi from Mohenjodaro and two small figurines from Harappa. Bronzes are rare, the most famous being a small female statue of about 11.5 cm. in height identified as dancing girl, from Mohenjodaro. Significantly, this has been made by the lost wax method of casting. Daimabad bronze animal workmanship most probably belong to Harappan period. The red sandstone torso found at Harappa is made of detachable limbs and head and the grey stone torso perhaps shows a dancing figure. Both these are so realistic...
71
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Annexure P-7
History of Ancient India, Motilal Banarasi Dass Publishers, Publication
Year:2014, Rama Shankar Tripathi, Page 39
Indus & Rigvedic Cultures Contrasted
...tama, Tusratta, for Mitani princes; and even some of the Kassites, who ruled in Babylonia between c. 1746- 1180 B.C., bore such names as Shurias (Skt. Surya) and Marytas (Skt. Marutas), etc. Considering all this evidence, it may be reasonably supposed, with some margin for error, that the beginnings of Vedic poetry and civilisation go back to about the sixteenth century B.C.
Indus and Rigvedic Cultures Contrasted
It may be interesting to note the dissimilarities between the Indus and
Rigvedic cultures. The Indo- Aryans were still in the village state, living in small thatched houses of bamboo. The Indus people, on the other hand, had developed a complex city life with commodious houses of brick, equipped with bath- rooms, wells, and sanitation. The metals known to the Rigvedic Aryans were gold, copper or bronze, and perhaps iron. The Indus people have left no trace of iron; they used silver more commonly than gold, and their utensils and vessels 'were made of stone — a relic of the Neolithic age — as well as of copper and bronze. The weapons of offence were almost the same in both the
'ages, but the defensive helmet and coat of mail, known to the 73
Rigvedic people, were not a feature of the Indus civilisation. It appears from the numerous seals discovered at Mohenjo-daro that the bull was their most important animal, but during the Rigvedic period the cow takes its place. The horse was unfamiliar to the Indus valley people, whereas the Rigvedic Aryans had domesticated it. Further, in the
Indus…
(True Copy) 74
Annexure P-8
Terracotta of Horse at National Museum, New Delhi, dated 2017
http://www.museumsofindia.gov.in/repository/record/nat_del-DK-
4732-237-10788 dated 2017
(True Copy) 75
Annexure P-9
Harappan Civilization: An Analysis in Modern Context (Deep Raj
Gupta), dated 2017
The Harappan Civilization has significance for not only historians and archaeologists but also the common man. Though the first Harappan sites were discovered way backing 1920-21, by archaeologists Dr. D.R.
Sahni and Dr. R.D. Banerjee (Harappa in Punjab and Mohenjo-Daro in
Sind - both in Pakistan now) fresh sites are still being unearthed, adding insight into the rich culture of the Harappan civilization.
Some of the most striking aspects of the discoveries are the town planning and architecture, art and crafts and the social, religious and economic condition of that era. Much has been known about the town planning and architecture of the Harappan civilization. The cities boasted of well-planned roads wide and straight, houses provided with an efficient drainage system and ventilation.
The excavations have yielded a rich collection of objects in stone, bronze and terracotta. One of the most known figurines is perhaps the
`dancing girl' (in bronze) naked but for a necklace and a series of bangles almost covering one arm, her hair dressed in a complicated coiffure, standing in a provocative posture, with one arm on her hip and one lanky leg half bent. This face has an air of lively pertness quite unlike anything in the work of other ancient civilizations. Her thin boyish figure and those of the mother goddesses found here, 76 indicate incidentally, that the ideas of female beauty among the
Harappan people were very different from those of later India. It has been suggested that this `dancing girl' is representative of a class of temple dancers and prostitutes, such as existed in contemporary
Middle Eastern civilizations and were an important feature of later
Hindu culture, but this cannot be proved. It is not certain that the girl is a dancer much less a temple dancer.
In stone much discussed are two male figures - one is a the torso in red sandstone and the other is the bust of a bearded man. In the former, the limbs have been made separately and fitted into sockets.
The Harappan people also made rough terracotta statuettes of women, usually naked, but with elaborate head dresses, these are certainly icons of the mother goddess and are so numerous that they seem to have been kept in nearly every home. They are crudely fashioned so historians assume that the Goddess was not favoured by the upper classes who commanded the services of the best craftsmen, but that her effigies were mass produced by humble potters to meet popular demand. In terracotta we also find a few figurines of bearded male with coiled hair, their posture rigidly upright, legs slightly apart, and the arms parallel, to the sides of the body. The repetition of this figure in exactly the same position would suggest that he was a deity. A terracotta mask of a horned deity has also been found. 77
Archaeologists have discovered thousands of seals with beautiful figures of animals, such as unicorn bull, rhinoceros, tiger, elephant, bison, goat, buffalo etc. The most remarkable seal is Pashupati Seal
(size: 1/2" to 2" with square and rectangular shape). From the seals it appears certain that the Indus valley civilization had trade links with
Mesopatomia and perhaps merchants from India even visited and stayed there. The standard Harappan seal was a square plaque 2 x 2 sq. inches usually made from the soft river stone steatite. Every seal is engraved in a pictographic script (yet to be deciphered). It appears that the seals were also used as amulets, carried on the persons of their owners, perhaps as modern day identity cards. Some seals have also been found in gold, ivory or blue or white. They all bear a great variety of designs, most often of animals including bull, with or without hump, elephant, tiger, goat and also monsters. Sometimes trees or human figures were also depicted.
The jewellery in gold and silver-bangles, necklaces and other ornaments are well crafted. They are "so well finished and so highly polished that they might have come out of a Bond Street Jeweller's of today rather than from a pre-historic house of thousands years ago" says Marshall. The Harappan people also made brilliantly naturalistic models of animals, specially monkeys and squirrels, used as pin-heads and beads. They also made toys in terracotta with movable heads, monkeys which would slide down a string, little toy carts (one of the oldest example of a wheeled vehicle) and whistles shaped like birds. 78
Tools of stone, copper and bronze have been found, which in many respects were technologically sound. The blades were flat and easily bent while the axe heads had to be lashed to their shafts. In the design of one tool, however, the Harappans had been superior; they had devised a saw with undulating teeth, which allowed the dust to escape freely from the cut and much simplified the carpenter's craft.
The origin and the race of the Harappan are still a matter of dispute.
While one section of scholars believes that they were Dravidian, definitely Indo-Aryan, another section believes that they were the same as Sumerians or the Cretans. The Harappan script has not been deciphered but the discovery of writing material clearly indicates that the Harappans were educated.
The discovery of a large number of spindles of various sizes indicate that threads both of cotton and woolen must have been spun in those days. Spindle whorls made of pottery, shell and faience have been found. From the statues it appears both men and women wore two separate pieces of clothes similar to dhoti and shawl (covering lower and upper parts of the body respectively). The `shawl' covered the left shoulder, passing below the right shoulder. No footwear has survived nor is it shown in any of the figures. Both men and women wore ornaments. While necklaces, fillets, armlets and finger-rings were common to both sexes, women wore girdles, earrings and anklets. Ornaments were made of gold, silver, copper, ivory, precious 79 and semi-precious stones, bones and shells etc. From archaeological findings it appears that the Harappans were conscious of fashion.
Different hairstyles and beards were in vogue. Cinnabar was used as a cosmetic and face-paints, lipsticks and collyrium (eye liners) were also known to them.
The main diet consisted of wheat, barley and milk products. Fruits, vegetables, fish and meat were also consumed. Music and dance appear to be the main sources of entertainment.
No temple has yet been discovered. From the Pashupati seal, it is certain that they worshipped Shiva. There is an image of Shiva, seated on a stool flanked by an elephant. Numerous pottery figurines of Mother Goddesses have also been found. Nature worship must have been part of their ritual as revealed in the seals. There is a scene of a horned goddess, before whom another horned deity is kneeling and animals as some male figures wearing the horns of a goat or a bull, some animals standing on rectangular pedestals, composite animals having body of a ram and trunk of an elephant, a limestone bull having a garland round his neck and a unicorn being carried in a procession.
Agriculture was their main occupation. Rainfall in Sind and Punjab was heavy. There is evidence of the cultivation of wheat, barley, peas, mustard, cotton and rice. Domesticated animals were kept in the 80 house. Horse bones have also been discovered at Surkotda, indicating use of the animal.
(The author works in Kala Nidhi)
Select Bibliography:
1. Kenoyer, J.M., Ancient Cities of the Harappan Civilization, Karachi,
1998
2. Sharma D.P., Bharat aur Sindhu Sabhayata, New Delhi, 1999
3. Possehl, G.L., Indus Age the Beginning, New Delhi, 2000
4. Puratattva, No. 28-31, India Archaeological Society, New Delhi
5. Lal, B.B., The Saraswati Flows on, New Delhi, 2001
6. Ratnagar Shereen, Understanding Harappa Civilization in the Greater Harappan, Mumbai, 2001
7. Sharma D.P., Harappan Art, Vol.I., New Delhi, 20018. Joshi,
Jagatpati, Harappan Civilization as seen at the Close of the Twentieth
Century in Man and Environment, XXV(1), Poona, 2001
Source: http://ignca.nic.in/nl002308.html
(True Copy) 81
Annexure P-10
“The Wonder that was India” by A.L. Basham, Picador Publication,
Publication year-2016, Page- 17-18
…class larger and more important in the social scale than those of the contemporary civilizations of Sumer and Egypt. Remains of workmen's dwellings have also been discovered at both sites—parallel rows of two-roomed cottages, at Mohenjodaro with a superficial area of 20 x
12 feet each, but at Harappa considerably larger: they bear a striking resemblance to the "coolie lines" of modern Indian tea and other estates. At Harappa rows of such buildings have been found near the circular brick floors on which grain was pounded, and they were probably the dwellings of the workmen whose task was to grind corn for the priests and dignitaries who lived in the citadel. Drab and tiny as they were, these cottages were better dwellings than those in which many Indian coolies live at the present day.
The most striking of the few large buildings is the great bath in the citadel area of Mohenjo Daro. This is an oblong bathing pool 39 x 23 foot in area and 8 feet deep, constructed of beautiful brickwork made watertight with bitumen (pl. Vlb). It could be drained by an opening in one corner and was surrounded by a cloister, on to which opened a number of small rooms. Like the "tank" of a Hindu temple, it probably had a religious purpose, and the cells may have been the homes of priests. The special attention paid by the people of the 82
Harapp5 culture to cleanliness is hardly due to the fact that they had notions of hygiene in advance of those of other civilizations of their time, but indicates that, like the later Hindus, they had a strong belief in the purificatory effects of water from a ritual point of view.
The largest building so far excavated is one at MohenjoDaro with a superficial area of 230 x 78 feet, which may have been a palace. At
Harappa a great granary has been discovered to the north of the citadel; this was raised on a platform of some 150 x 200 feet in area to protect it from floods, and was divided into storage blocks of 60 x 20 feet each. It was doubtless used for storing the corn which was collected from the peasants as land tax, and we may assume that it had its counterpart at MohenjoDaro. The main food crops were wheat, barley, peas, and sesamum, the latter still an important crop in India for its seeds, which provide edible oil. There is no clear evidence of the cultivation of rice, but the Harappa people grew and used cotton. It is not certain that irrigation was known, although this is possible. The main domestic animals known to modern India had already been tamed -humped and hump-less cattle, buffaloes, goats, sheep, pigs, asses, dogs, and the domestic fowl. The elephant was well known, and may also have been tamed. The Harappa people may have known of the horse, since a few horse's teeth have been found in the lowest stratum of the Baluchistan site of Rana Ghundai, probably dating from several centuries earlier than the foundation of Harappa. This would indicate that horse-riding nomads found their way to N.-W. India in 83 small numbers long before the Aryan invasion; but it is very doubtful whether the Harappa people possessed domestic horses themselves, and if they did they...
Page-18
...must have been very rare animals. The bullock was probably the usual beast of burden.
On the basis of this thriving agricultural economy the Harappa people built their rather unimaginative but comfortable civilization. Their bourgeoisie had pleasant houses, and even their workmen, who may have been bondmen or slaves, had the comparative luxury of two- roomed brick-built cottages. Evidently a well organized commerce made these things possible. The cities undoubtedly traded with the village cultures of Baluchistan, where outposts of the Harappa culture have been traced, but many of their metals and semi-precious stones came front much longer distances. From Saurashtra and the Deccan they obtained conch shell, which they used freely in decoration, and several types of stone. Silver, turquoise and lapis lazuli were imported from Persia and Afghanistan. Their copper came either from Rajasthan or from Persia, while jadeite was probably obtained from Tibet or
Central Asia.
Whether by sea or land, the products of the Indus reached Mesopo- tamia, for a number of typical Indus seals and a few other objects from the Indus Valley have been found in Sumer at levels dating 84 between about 2300 and 2000 B.C., and some authorities believe that the land of Melukka, reached by sea from Sumer, and referred to in
Sumerian documents, was the Indus Valley. Evidence of Sumerian exports to India is very scant and uncertain, and we must assume that they were mainly precious metals and raw materials. The finding of
Indus seals suggests that merchants from India actually resided in
Mesopotamia; their chief merchandise was probably cotton, which has always been one of India's staple exports, and which is known to have been used in later Babylonia. The recently excavated site at Lothal in
Gujarat has revealed harbour works, and the Harappa people may have been more nautically inclined than was formerly supposed. No doubt from their port of Lothal they were in touch with places farther south, and it is possibly thus that certain distinctive features of the
Harappan culture penetrated to South India.
It seems that every merchant or mercantile family had a seal, bearing an emblem, often of a religious character, and a name or brief inscription in the tantalizingly indecipherable script. The standard
Harappa seal was a square or oblong plaque, usually made of the soft stone called steatite, which was delicately engraved and hardened by heating (pl. IX). The Mesopotamian civilizations employed cylinder seals, which were rolled on clay tablets, leaving an impressed band bearing the device and inscription of the seal; one or two such seals have been found in… 85
(True Copy)
Annexure P-11
Tamil Nadu State Government Publication, Class 11, Print 2017, Page-
20
...much later. It was surrounded by a massive brick wall as flood protection. Lothal remained an emporium of trade between the
Harappan civilization and the remaining part of India as well as
Mesopotamia.
Date of the Harappan Culture
In 1931, Sir John Marshall estimated the duration of the occupation of
Mohenjodaro between 3250 and 2750 B.C. Subsequently, as and when new sites were discovered, the dating of the Harappan culture is modified. The advent of the radiocarbon method paves way for fixing almost accurate dates. By 1956, Fairservis brought down the dating of the Harappan culture to between 2000 and 1500 B.C. on the basis of radiocarbon dates of his findings. In 1964, D.P. Agarwal came to the conclusion that the total span of this culture should be between 2300 and 1750 B.C. Yet, there is further scope of modification of these dates.
Salient Features of the Harappan Culture 86
Town Planning
The Harappan culture was distinguished by its system of town- planning on the lines of the grid system — that is streets and lanes cutting across one another almost at right angles thus dividing the city into several rectangular blocks. Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Kalibangan each had its own citadel built on a high podium of mud brick. Below the citadel in each city lay a lower town containing brick houses, which were inhabited by the common people. The large-scale use of burnt bricks in almost all kinds of constructions and the absence of stone buildings are the important characteristics of the Harappan culture.
Another remarkable feature was the underground drainage system connecting all houses to the street drains which were covered by stone slabs or bricks.
The most important public place of Mohenjodaro is the Great Bath measuring 39 feet length, 23 feet breadth and 8 feet depth. Flights of 87 steps at either end lead to the surface. There are side rooms for changing clothes. The floor of the Bath was made of burnt bricks.
Water was drawn from a large well in an adjacent room, and an outlet from one corner of the Bath led to a drain. It must have served as a ritual bathing site. The largest building in Mohenjodaro is a granary measuring 150 feet length and 50 feet breadth. But in the citadel of
Harappa we find as many as six granaries.
Economic life
There was a great progress in all spheres of economic activity such as agriculture, industry and crafts and trade. Wheat and barley were the main crops grown besides sesame, mustard and cotton. Surplus grain is stored in granaries. Animals like sheep, goats and buffalo were domesticated. The use of horse is not yet firmly established. A number of other animals were hunted for food including deer…
(True Copy) 88
Annexure P-12
Old NCERT, 11th Class (Ancient India by RS Sharma, Print 1990, Page
38-39)
...carried far more alluvial soil than the Nile in Egypt and deposited it on the flood plains Just as the Nile created Egypt and supported its people, so also the Indus created Sindh and fed its people The Indus people sowed seeds in the flood plains in November, when the flood water receded, and reaped their harvests of wheat and barley in April before the advent of the next flood. No hoe or ploughshare has been discovered, but the furrows discovered in the pre-Harappan phase at
Kalibangan show that the fields were ploughed in Rajasthan in the
Harappan period The Harappans probably used the wooden ploughshare. Wo do not know whether the plough was drawn by men or oxen Stone sickles may have been used for harvesting the crops
Gabarbands or stales enclosed by dams for storing water were a feature in parts of Baluchistan and Afghanistan, but channel or canal irrigation seems to have been absent.
The Harappan villages, mostly situated near the flood plains, produced sufficient foodgrains not only to feed themselves but also the town people. They must have worked very hard to meet their own requirements as well as those of the artisans, merchants and, others, who lived in the city and who were not directly concerned with food- producing activities. 89
The Indus people produced wheat, barley, peas, etc. They produced two types of wheat and barley. A good quantity of barley has been discovered at Banawali. In addition to this, they produced sesamum and mustard. But the position seems to have been different with the
Harappans at Lethal. It seems that as early as 1800 B C., the people of
Lothal used rice whose remains have been found Foodgrains wore stored in huge granaries in both Mohenjo-daro and Harappa and possibly in Kalibangan. Probably, cereals ware received as taxes from peasants and stored in granary for the payment of wages. This can be said on the analogy of Mesopotamian cities where wages were paid in barley. The Indus people were the earliest people to produce cotton
Because cotton was that produced in this area the Greeks called it
Sindon, which is derived from Sindh.
Domestication of Animals
Although the Harappans practised agriculture, animals were kept on a largescale Oxen, buffaloes, goats, sheep and pigs were domesticated
The humped bulls were favoured by the Harappans From the very beginning dogs were regarded as pots Cats wore also domesticated. and signs of the feet of both dogs and cats have been noticed They also kept asses and camels, which were possibly used as beasts of burden. Evidence of the horse comes froth a superficial level of
Mohenjo-daro and from a doubtful terracotta figurine from Lethal. The 90 remains of the horse have been reported from Surkotada, situated on the west of Gujarat, and belong to around'2000 B C., but it is clear
Page 39: that this animal was not in regular use in Harappan times. Elephants were welt known to the Harappans, who ware also acquainted with the rhinoceros The contemporary Sumerian cities in Mesopotamia practically produced the same foodgrains and domesticated the same animals as the Harappans did But the Harappan people in Gujarat produced rice and domesticated elephants, which was not the case with the people of Mesopotamian cities.
Technology and Crafts
The Harappan culture belongs to the Bronze Age. The people of
Harappa used many tools and implements of stone, but they were very well acquainted with the manufacture and use of bronze. Bronze was made by the smiths by mixing tin with copper. Since none of the two metals was easily available to the Harappans, bronze tools are not prolific in Harappa. The impurities of the ores show that copper was obtained from the Khetri copper mines of Rajasthan, although it could also be brought from Baluchistan Tin was possibly brought with difficulty from Afghanistan although its old workings are stated to have been found in Hazaribagh in Bihar. The bronze tools and weapons recovered from the Harappan sites contain a smaller percentage of tin
However, the kit of bronze goods left by the Harappans is 91 considerable, which suggests that the bronze smiths constituted an important group of artisans in the Harappan society. They produced not only images and utensils but also various tools and weapons such as axes, saws, knives and spears. Several other important crafts flourished in the Harap-pan towns. A piece of woven cotton has been recovered from Mohenjo-daro, and textile impressions found on several objects. Spindle whorls were used for spinning Weavers wove cloth of wool and cotton. Hugo brick structures suggest that brick- laying was an important craft. They also attest' the existence of a class of masons The Harappans also practised boat-making. As will be shown later, seal-making and terracotta manufacture were also impor- tant crafts Th6 goldsmiths made jewellery of silver, gold and precious stones; the first two may have been obtained from Afghanistan and the last from south India. The Harappans were also experts in beadmaking. The potter's wheel was in full use, and the Harappans produced their own characteristic pottery, which was made glossy and shining.
Trade
The Harappan cities did not possess the necessary raw material for the commodities they produced, They did not use metallic money. We have no idea about their currency. Most probably they carried on all exchanges through barter In return for finished goods and possibly foodgrains, they procured metals from the neighbouring areas by 92 boats and bullock-carts. They practised navigation on the coast of the
Arabian Sea They knew the use of wheel, and carts with solid wheels wore in use in Harappa. It also appears that the Harappans used some kind of modern ekka.
The Harappans had commercial links with Rajasthan, Afghanistan and
Iran. Their cities also carried on commerce with those in the land of the Tigris and Euphrates. Many Harap-pan seals have been discovered in Mesopotamia, and it seems that the Harappansimitated some cosmetics used by the urban people of Mesopotamia. The
Mesopotamian records from about 2350 B.C. refer to trade relations with Meluha, which was the ancient name given to the Indus region.
The Mesopotamian texts speak of two intermediate trading stations called Dilmun and Makan, which lay between Mesopotamia and
Meluha, Dilmun can probably be identified with Bahrain on the Persian
Gulf. Thousands of graves await excavation in that post city.
(True Copy) 93
Annexure P-13
R.C. Majumdar (Laxmi Publications Pvt Ltd, Print 2016) Advanced
History of India, page 19
...wore made of gold, silver, ivory, copper and both precious and semi- precious stones like jade, crystal, agate, carnelian, and lapis lazuli.
Household articles
The earthenware vessels, of rich variety, were made with the potter's wheel and were either plain or painted. In rare cases they were glazed.
Vessels of copper, bronze, silver, and porcelain were known, though very rarely used. It is important to hear in mind that not a scrap of iron tools been found, and that metal was obviously unknown.
Among other articles of domestic use may be mentioned spindles and spindle whorls made of baked earth, porcelain and shell ; needles and combs, made of bone or ivory; axes, chisels, knives, sickle, fishhooks and razors made of copper and bronze; small cubical blocks of hard stone, probably used as weights.
The children's toys included, in addition to familiar articles, small- wheeled carts and chairs, and we may easily infer that these were used in actual life. The discovery of dice-pieces shows the prevalence of that game.
94
Domesticated animals
The remains of skeletons prove that the humped bull, the buffalo, sheep, elephant and camel were domesticated. There are some doubts about the horse. The carvings of dogs on children's toys show that that animal was also familiar.
Weapons of War
These include axes, spears, daggers, maces and slings, with comparatively fewer specimens of bows and arrows. The absence of swords is significant. Shields, helmets or any other defensive armor are conspicuous by their absence. The weapons of war, all offensive in character, are usually made 'of copper and bronze, though a few stone implements have also been found.
Seals
More than five hundred seals have been discovered. These are made of terra cotta and small in size. Some contain fine representations of animal figures—both mythical and real—engraved on them. All of them contain a short record inscribed in a sort of pictorial writing, which still remains undeciphered.
Fine Art
The representations of the animals carved on these seals often exhibit a high degree of excellence. A few stone images found at Harappa 95 recall the finish and excellence of Greek statues and show a high degree of development in the sculptor's art.
Trade and Commerce
The seals were most probably used in connection with trade. Indeed there is abundant evidence that the people traded not only with other parts of India but also with many countries of Asia. It is certain that they accrued tin, copper and precious stones from beyond India.
(True Copy) 96
Annexure P-14
Critical Habitat Information System for Gulf of Khambhat, Gujarat, page-
5, Department of Ocean Development, Government of India, dated 2002
…The depth of the Gulf ranges from 18 to 27 m and is less than 20 m over most of its length. However, the depth at the head is as low as 5 m and in the channel on the eastern side of the Piram Bet it is about 50m.
The tides are of mixed semi-diurnal type, with large diurnal inequality and varying amplitude, which decrease from north to south. Because of its unique position (nearness to the Tropic of Cancer), Gujarat coast experiences very high tides; the highest anywhere along the Indian coast.
Because of the funnel shape and the semi-enclosed nature at the head, the tidal height increases tremendously in the upstream. The mean tidal elevation during spring is 4.7 m at Mahuva Bandar which rises to 6.5 m at
Gopnath Point and10.2 m at Bhavnagar. The maximum spring tide recorded at Bhavnagar is 12.5 m, which is second only to that of the highest tide recorded anywhere in the world (around 17 m at the Bay of
Fundy on Newfoundland coast of Canada). Because of the high tidal amplitude, especially in the upper Gulf, it has huge inter-tidal expanses of 1.5 to 5 km, perhaps the widest along the Indian coast. Long-shore currents with low wave dominate the open coasts along the Arabian Sea.
However, due to exceptionally strong flood and ebb tides, powerful tidal currents with a speed of 3 to 4 knots dominate the flow. Maximum velocities of 6 knots associated with high wave energy occur during mid- tide. Currents in the Gulf, though tidal, are monsoonal in origin and 97 dominated by barotropic tides (Unnikrishnan et al., 1999). The flow adjusts its directional orientation with the changing direction of wind effected by changing seasons of the year. The turnover residence times are quite short because of its shallow depth, large tidal amplitude and strong tidal current.
Development of GI S based Information System
The information system for Gulf of Khambhat integrates the existing diverse coastal and environmental data set collected on the biodiversity with data on land use and developmental activities to facilitate planners to manage and protect the health and wealth of the ecosystem.
The Information System incorporates the following:
Land use / Land cover and geomorphology of the area
Present status of mangrove cover in the area and causes of its
degradation
Water and sediment quality
Present status of distribution of phytoplankton, zooplankton,
benthos, seaweeds and fishes.
Commercial activities in area and their impact on marine
biodiversity
Socio-economics of the area
98
(True Copy) 99
Annexure P-15
Gujarat Government website details on Bhavnagar, dated 2017
Nishkalank mahadev temple, Koliyak
Koliyak is located at a distance of about 23 km to the east of
Bhavnagar. It is said that Pandavas established Nishkalank or Nakalank
Mahadev on a new moon night of the Indian calendar month of
Bhadarva. The famous fair popularly known as ‘Bhadarvi’ is held on the new moon night in month of Sharvan, as per the Indian calender. An idol of god Shankar was established in an island, over the sea about 3 km to the east of Koliyak. This temple can be reached between 9.00 am to 12.00 pm on the day next to the new moon night. It has to be noted that the place gets inundated under the tide so the visitors should leave the place before 1.00 pm.
Source: https://bhavnagardp.gujarat.gov.in/bhavnagar/english/jillavishe/histori cal-places/nishkalank-mahadev.htm
(True Copy) 100
Annexure P-16
Tidal tables for Bhavnagar, INCOIS, page 16-17, INCOIS, Hyderabad dated 2014
Training Workshop on Ocean Information Services for Cyclone
Forecasters April 2, 2014
Tide Forecasting
K. Srinivas
Ocean State Forecast Lab (ISG) INCOIS, Hyderabad
E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 040-23886057, 040-23895017
Why forecasting of the tide is important!!
“The tides are the heartbeat of the ocean, a pulse that can be felt all over the world” Defant, 1958.
Tides are generated by astronomical phenomena and are, therefore, highly predictable.
The Indian situation and Peculiarities!
BHAVNAGAR
Approx. 10 metres tidal range 101
Source: http://www.incois.gov.in/documents/IMD%20Training_SRINIVAS_INC
OIS_tides.pdf
(True Copy) 102
Annexure P-17
Information on Chandipur, Official Website, Government of Odisha, dated 2017
Chandipur Beach Odisha has a long coastline of over 480 km. on the
Bay of Bengal interspersed by a couple of lovely beaches. Added to their seductive beauty is a vast hinterland of antiquities and holy shrines. Backed up by musical sway of casuarina trees and creepered sand dunes, Chandipur is one such beach, but with a unique distinction on its own. Unlike other beaches, the sea water here recedes away from the shore line about five km twice a day, an unusual phenomenon, rarely found anywhere. You can see the sea literally vanishing before your eyes and also watch it coming back rhythmically at regular intervals, as if playing hide and seek.
Elsewhere, the waves come and go dashing on the shore like madcap but here they are like a musical fountain, soothing to the eyes and ears. Elsewhere, the waters wait for the visitors but here the visitors have to wait for the waters. Elsewhere, the waves go wild and the visitors calm but here the ecstasy of visitors will go wild while the waves remain calm.
This marvel of Nature gives the bathers an unexpected pleasure of fearlessly walking into the sea and happily playing with the waves.
When the waters disappear, you can even take jeep ride on, the widest beach. The beauty of the exposed bosom of the beach is further 103 enhanced by the small red crabs. If a beach comber, you will be delighted with its abundant wealth of sea shells and drift wood.
To enjoy Chandipur in all its entirety, a minimum stay of twenty-four hours is recommended.
Hardly 2 km away is Balaramgadi where the river Budhabalang meets the sea. A trip through the mouth of the meandering river on a fisherman's boat is a pleasant experience. Watching them cast their nets and pull their catch of fish is memorable.
Excursion:
There are a few places to which day trips can be made from
Chandipur, OTDC has provision to organise conducted tours to some of the places (Contact : Manager, Panthanivas Ph. (06782) 370051.
Panchalingeswar (45 km)
Ensconced in the verdant of Nilagiri Hills with panoramic views around, it is a place of scenic beauty, sanctified by the five lingams over which runs a perennial stream. Popular as a Saiva Shrine, you have to lie flat on the rock parallel to the stream to touch and worship the lingams, which is itself as exciting as adventurous. Herds of elephants can be seen occasionally moving up and down the hill. It is also an ideal base for trekking the Nilagiri hills. There is a Panthasala of Odisha Tourism
Department for night stay. (Reservation - Tourist Officer, Balasore, ph.
362048) 104
Remuna (25 km)
Famous for the shrine of Khirachora Gopinath, it is a seat of
Vaishnavite culture for centuries. Sri Chaitanya, his teacher
Madhavendrapuri and disciple jeevaswami Goswami are said to have visited the shrine and worshipped the lord. Khira (a special milk preparation) is the most delicious offering of the temple. Champak and
Kadamba trees inside the courtyard fill the air with sweet and scented fragrance all the time.
Nilagiri (40 km)
Harbouring the Kuldiha Sanctuary, which is also an ideal base for trekking, Nilagiri is known for the Jagannath Temple. Headquarters of an ex-princely state, set against the green mountain, it is a charming placeonthe lap of nature.
Sajanagarh (45 km)
About 5 km from Nilagiri is Sajanagarh, the shrine of Bhudara Chandi.
A seat of sakti cult, the place is archaeologically rich.
Similipal (100 km)
Covering an area of about 2750.sq. km, it is a wildlife sanctuary and one of the few Tiger Reserves of India. Apart from Tigers, it is the home of leopards, Elephants, Deer,Crocodiles and Reptiles. Over 230 species of birds including the talking Mayna and dancing peacocks fill the air with their chirpings. 105
Filled with lush green forest covers, especially luxuriant sal trees and vast expanse of grassy meadows, cloud kissing peaks, the wild beauty is enhanced by the sparkling water fails and unique orchids. There is an Aranyanivas of the OTDC (Reservation,Tourist Office, Batipada, Ph.
06792-52710) at lulung for night stay. There are also Forest
Bungalows at different places inside, (Reservation: Field Director,
Similipal Tiger Reserve Project, Baripada, Dist: Mayurbhanj, Odisha,
Tel: (06792) 52593.
Deokund
It is an enchanting place with a series of waterfalls and a Sakti shrine, set against the outer periphery of Similipal. http://odishatourism.gov.in/?q=node/97 dated 2017
(True Copy) 106
Annexure P-18
Email representations from Petitioners no. 1-9, 11, 14, 15, and 18 made to UPSC, dated 2017
Petitioner No. 1 Representation to UPSC: vishal rathi
Dear Sir/Madam,
I, Vishal Rathi, bearing roll number 0007846 for UPSC CSP examination
-2017, would like to sincerely bring to your kind and immediate attention, the scope of ambiguity in a few questions that were asked in
Paper 1 of UPSC CSP 2017.
I humbly request you to examine the file attached
(ambiguous_questions_CSP2017.pdf) in this email and to initiate the needful measures.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
Vishal Rathi
Petitioner No. 2 Representation to UPSC:
Roshu Tiwari
Dear Sir/Madam, 107
I, Vaibhav Tiwari, bearing roll number 0709271 for UPSC CSP examination - 2017, would like to sincerely bring to your kind and immediate attention, the scope of ambiguity in a few questions that were asked in Paper 1 of UPSC CSP 2017.
I humbly request you to examine the file attached
(ambiguous_questions_CSP2017.pdf) in this email and to initiate the needful measures.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
Vaibhav Tiwari
Petitioner No. 3 Representation to UPSC:
Niraj Singh
Respected Sir/Madam,
Myself Niraj Kumar Singh, Roll No." 0019408 " appeared for UPSC Civil
Services Prelims examination held on 18/06/2017. I noticed few questions asked in GS Paper 1 were of ambiguous nature which I have attached in this mail.
Though Prelims result has been declared, I am unable to judge my performance due to ambiguous nature of questions asked.
Regarding ambiguities no communication has been conveyed from esteemed UPSC till date. 108
Please look at attached pdf list of Ambiguous Questions List. Request you to do needful.
Thanks & Regards,
Yours Sincerely,
Niraj Kumar Singh
Email: [email protected]
Mob. #: 9560144927
UPSC Roll No.: 0019408
Petitioner No. 4 Representation to UPSC:
From: "Ravi Kant Dwivedi"
2017 12:42 p.m.
Subject: Scope of ambiguity in questions of CSP Pre 2017
To:
Dear Sir/Madam,
I, Ravi Kant Dwivedi, bearing roll number 0280768 for UPSC CSP Pre
Examination- 2017, would like to bring your kind attention, the scope of ambiguity in many questions that were asked in Paper - 1 of UPSC
CSP Pre 2017.
Sir, the result is out and I am not able to assess my performance, and in absence of self-evaluation I find it very difficult to take corrective action, and thus my career is at stake for future examinations. 109
Therefore, I humbly request to kindly examine the file attached(ambiguous_questions_CSP2017.pdf) in this email and to initiate the needful measures.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
Ravi Kant Dwivedi
Petitioner No. 5 Representation to UPSC:
From: iznallah iznallah
Date: 19 August 2017 at 00:32
Subject: Regarding ambiguity in a few questions of UPSC CSP 2017 and demanding redressal
Dear Madam/Sir,
I, Iznallah, bearing roll no.0026617, have appeared for UPSC Civil
Services (Preliminary) Examination 2017 and I would like to sincerely bring to your kind attention that there were some questions in the
Paper-1 which had a very high degree of subjectivity, so much so that they could have multiple 'correct' answers.
To illustrate my point, in a question which read as:
"At one of the places in India, if you stand on the seashore and watch the sea, you will find that the sea water recedes from the shore line a few kilometres and comes back to the shore, twice a day, and you can 110 actually walk on the sea floor when the water recedes. This unique phenomenon is seen at
(a)Bhavnagar
(b)Bheemunipatnam
(c)Chandipur
(d)Nagapattinam."
In this question, a unique phenomenon of diurnal tidal submergence of a coast is being discussed about but the unfortunate part is that the options in this question are so framed that two of them exhibit the exact same phenomenon. These places are Chandipur (Odisha) as well as Bhavnagar (Gujarat). The reality fact check about Chandipur is clearly backed by the Odisha government tourism website and regarding Bhavnagar, too there are more than sufficient credible testimony (both government as well as non-government sources).
Another question pertaining to Indus Valley Civilization people having been aware of horses or not was also clearly an ambiguous question which has been sufficiently and credibly argued either ways by the best of academia and books.
As a result, I am unable to judge my performance in the exam and the mere feeling of such subjectivity in an objective exam has seriously put my career into jeopardy. 111
Therefore, I request you to kindly look into this serious lapse (a list of ambiguous questions are attached herewith for your kind perusal) and grant an immediate and necessary respite cum redressal in the interest of meritocracy if not my own individual interest or the interest of many thousand "rather unlucky" candidates.
Regards,
Iznallah
Petitioner No. 6 Representation to UPSC:
From: "twishi"
Date: 18-Aug-2017 11:59 PM
Subject: Regarding ambiguity in a few questions of UPSC CSP 2017 and demanding redressal
Dear Madam/Sir,
I, Binita Sinha, bearing roll no. 0274718, have appeared for UPSC Civil
Services (Preliminary) Examination 2017 and I would like to sincerely bring to your kind attention that there were some questions in the question paper which had a very high degree of subjectivity, so much so that it can have multiple 'correct' answers. To illustrate my point, in a question which read as:
"At one of the places in India, if you stand on the seashore and watch the sea, you will find that the sea water recedes from the shore line a 112 few kilometres and comes back to the shore, twice a day, and you can actually walk on the sea floor when the water recedes. This unique phenomenon is seen at
(a)Bhavnagar
(b)Bheemunipatnam
(c)Chandipur
(d) Nagapattinam."
In this question, a unique phenomenon of diurnal tidal submergence of a coast is being discussed about but the unfortunate part is that the options in this question are so framed that two of them exhibit the exact same phenomenon. These places are Chandipur (Odisha) as well as Bhavnagar (Gujarat). The reality fact check about Chandipur is clearly backed by the Odisha government tourism website and regarding Bhavnagar, too there are more than sufficient credible
(government as well as non-government sources) information. As a matter of fact, I have been to Nishkalank Mahadev Temple in
Bhavnagar where the exact same phenomenon is observed daily by hundreds of tourists and devotees.
Another question pertaining to Indus Valley Civilization people having been aware of horses or not was also clearly an ambiguous question which has been sufficiently and credibly argued either ways by the best of academia and books. 113
Therefore, I request you to kindly look into this serious lapse and grant an immediate and necessary respite cum redressal in the interest of meritocracy if not my own individual interest or the interest of many thousand "rather unlucky" candidates.
Regards,
Binita Sinha
Petitioner No. 7 Representation to UPSC:
From: "Shailendra Kumar"
Date: Aug 31, 2017 12:47 PM
Subject: Regarding ambiguous question in CSP 2017
To:
Respected Sir/Madam,
Myself Shailendra kumar Singh, Roll No."0548783 " appeared for UPSC
Civil Services Prelims examination held on 18/06/2017. I noticed few questions asked in GS Paper 1 were of ambiguous nature which I have attached in this mail.
Though Prelims result has been declared, I am unable to judge my performance due to ambiguous nature of questions asked.
Regarding ambiguities no communication has been conveyed from esteemed UPSC till date. 114
Please look at attached pdf list of Ambiguous Questions List. Request you to do needful.
Thanks & Regards,
Yours Sincerely,
Yours Name Shailendra kumar Singh
Email: [email protected]
Mob. #: 7903117911
UPSC Roll No.: 0548783
Petitioner No. 8 Representation:
Piyush Stoicist
Dear Sir,
I, Piyush Gade, bearing Roll number 0474121, for UPSC CSP examination -2017, would like to sincerely bring to your kind and immediate attention, the scope for ambiguity in a few questions and the options given, which were asked in Paper 1 of UPSC CSP 2017.
I thus humbly request you to examine the file attached (Ambiguous-
Questions_CSP2017.pdf) in this email and to initiate the needful measures.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
Piyush Gade. 115
Petitioner No. 9 Representation to UPSC:
From: "anshu chaturvedi"
Date: 23 Aug 2017 4:05 p.m.
Subject: Regarding ambiguous question asked in civil services preliminary examination2017
To:
Dear Madam/Sir,
I, ANSHU KUMAR CHATURVEDI, bearing roll no. 0008842, have appeared for UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2017 and I would like to sincerely bring to your kind attention that there were some questions in the Paper-1 which had a very high degree of subjectivity, so much so that they could have multiple 'correct' answers.
To illustrate my point, in a question which read as:
"At one of the places in India, if you stand on the seashore and watch the sea, you will find that the sea water recedes from the shore line a few kilometres and comes back to the shore, twice a day, and you can actually walk on the sea floor when the water recedes. This unique phenomenon is seen at
(a) Bhavnagar
(b) Bheemunipatnam
(c) Chandipur 116
(d) Nagapattinam."
In this question, a unique phenomenon of diurnal tidal submergence of a coast is being discussed about but the unfortunate part is that the options in this question are so framed that two of them exhibit the exact same phenomenon. These places are Chandipur (Odisha) as well as Bhavnagar (Gujarat). The reality fact check about Chandipur is clearly backed by the Odisha government tourism website and regarding Bhavnagar, there are more than sufficient credible testimonies primarily from the government sources from Gujarat government website as well as backed by reality check and from personal experiences of thousands of tourists.
Another question pertaining to Indus Valley Civilization people having been aware of horses or not was also clearly an ambiguous question which has been sufficiently and credibly argued either ways by the best of academia and books. As a result, I am unable to judge my performance in the exam and the mere feeling of such subjectivity in an objective exam has seriously put my career into jeopardy.
Therefore, I request you to kindly look into this serious lapse (a list of ambiguous questions are attached herewith for your kind perusal) and grant an immediate and necessary respite cum redressal in the interest of meritocracy if not my own individual interest or the interest of many thousand "rather unlucky" candidates. 117
Regards,
Anshu
Petitioner No. 11 Representation to UPSC:
From: "Lalit Kumar"
Date: 31 Aug 2017 10:13
Subject: subject: Reporting the scope of ambiguity in questions of CSP
2017
Dear Sir/Madam,
I, Lalit Kumar, bearing roll number 0594046 for UPSC CSP examination
2017, would like to sincerely bring to your kind and immediate attention, the scope of ambiguity in a few questions that were asked in
Paper 1 of UPSC CSP 2017.
I humbly request you to examine the file attached
(ambiguous_questions_CSP2017.pdf) in this email and to initiate the needful measures.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
Lalit kumar
Petitioner No. 14 Representation to UPSC : vinod chaudhary
To: [email protected] 118
Dear Sir/Madam,
I, Vinod Kumar Chaudhary, bearing roll number 0140305 for UPSC CSP examination - 2017, would like to sincerely bring to your kind and immediate attention, 2017.
I humbly request you to examine the file attached(ambiguous_questions_CSP2017.pdf) in this email and to initiate the needful measures.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
Vinod Kumar Chaudhary
Petitioner No. 15 Representation to UPSC :
From: neha mishra
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 at 11:48 AM
Subject: Ambiguous questions in upsc pre 2017
Respected Sir/Madam,
Myself Neha Mishra, Roll No. 0450054 appeared for UPSC Civil Services
Prelims examination held on 18/06/2017. I noticed few questions asked in GS Paper 1 were of ambiguous nature which I have attached in this mail. Though Prelims result has been declared, I am unable to judge my performance due to ambiguous nature of questions asked. 119
Regarding ambiguities no communication has been conveyed from esteemed UPSC till date.
Please look at attached pdf list of Ambiguous Questions List. Request you to do needful.
Thanks & Regards,
Yours Sincerely,
Neha Mishra
Email: [email protected]
Mob. #: 9119124800
UPSC Roll No.: 0450054
Petitioner No. 18 Representation to UPSC:
Safdar Rahman
Respected Sir/Madam,
Myself Safdar Rahman, Roll No." 0594852 " appeared for UPSC Civil
Services Prelims examination held on 18/06/2017.I noticed few questions asked in GS Paper 1 were of ambiguous nature which I have attached in this mail.
Though Prelims result has been declared, I am unable to judge my performance due to ambiguous nature of questions asked. 120
Regarding ambiguities no communication has been conveyed from esteemed UPSC till date.
Thanks & Regards,
Yours Sincerely,
Safdar Rahman
Email: [email protected]
Mob. #: 8375900065
UPSC Roll No: 0594852
(True Copy) 121
Annexure P-19
Question No. 8, Set A of Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2016:
8. With reference to 'IFC Masala Bonds', sometimes seen in the news, which of the statements given below is/are correct?
1. The International Finance Corporation, which offers these bonds,
is an arm of the World Bank.
2. They are the rupee-denominated bonds and are a source of debt
financing for the public and private sector
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
(True Copy)
122
Annexure P-20
Official Answer Key of Civil Services Preliminary Exam, 2016:
Examination Civil Services(Preliminary) Exam. 2016
Series A Subject General
Studies Paper-
I
Maximum Marks 200 No. Of items 100
No. Of Items to be 100 No. Of items NIL taken for scoring dropped
1 B 16 C 31 B 46 C 61 A 76 C 91 C
2 C 17 C 32 A 47 A 62 B 77 B 92 B
3 C 18 D 33 C 48 C 63 D 78 D 93 D
4 B 19 C 34 C 49 A 64 D 79 D 94 C
5 C 20 B 35 B 50 B 65 B 80 D 95 D
6 B 21 B 36 A 51 B 66 B 81 A 96 D
7 D 22 D 37 C 52 C 67 B 82 B 97 B
8 C 23 A 38 D 53 A 68 D 83 C 98 B
9 C 24 B 39 B 54 D 69 B 84 C 99 A 123
10 B 25 D 40 B 55 A 70 A 85 B 100 B
11 A 26 C 41 D 56 C 71 C 86 B
12 D 27 B 42 A 57 A 72 D 87 D
13 C 28 D 43 C 58 C 73 A 88 C
14 D 29 A 44 A 59 D 74 D 89 D
15 C 30 C 45 A 60 B 75 B 90 D
(True Copy) 124
Annexure P-21
Official document from the website of International Finance
Corporation,dated 2017
Overview
We work with the private sector in developing countries to create market that open up opportunities for all.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries.
We utilize and leverage our products and services—as well as products and services of other institutions in the World Bank Group—to provide development solutions customized to meet clients’ needs. We apply our financial resources, technical expertise, global experience, and innovative thinking to help our partners overcome financial, operational, and political challenges.
Clients view IFC as a provider and mobilizer of scarce capital, knowledge, and long-term partnerships that can help address critical constraints in areas such as finance, infrastructure, employee skills, and the regulatory environment.
IFC is also a leading mobilizer of third-party resources for its projects. Our willingness to engage in difficult environments and our leadership in crowding-in private finance enable us to extend our footprint and have a development impact well beyond our direct resources.
Source:http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/corp_ext_content/ifc_external
_corporate_site/about+ifc_new 125
(True Copy) Annexure P-22
World Bank Official website, dated 2017
The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.
IBRD
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(http://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/ibrd)
IDA
The International Development Association
(http://ida.worldbank.org)
IFC
The International Finance Corporation
(http://www.ifc.org)
MIGA
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
(http://www.miga.org)
ICSID
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
(https://icsid.worldbank.org) 126
Partnering With Governments
Together, IBRD and IDA form the World Bank, which provides financing, policy advice, and technical assistance to governments of developing countries. IDA focuses on the world’s poorest countries, while IBRD assists middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries.
One World Bank Group
While our five institutions have their own country membership, governing boards, and articles of agreement, we work as one to serve our partner countries. Today’s development challenges can only be met if the private sector is part of the solution. But the public sector sets the groundwork to enable private investment and allow it to thrive. The complementary roles of our institutions give the World
Bank Group a unique ability to connect global financial resources, knowledge, and innovative solutions to the needs of developing countries.
Source: http://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are
(True Copy)
127
Annexure P-23
Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2011 Q.11, Set A., dated 2011
Q.11 Set A, Civil Services Preliminary Examination, 2011
The Constitution (Seventy-Third Amendment) Act. 1992, which aims at promoting the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the country provides for which of the following?
1. Constitution of District Planning Committees.
2. State Election Commissions to conduct all panchayat elections.
3. Establishment of State Finance Commissions.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a.) 1 only
b.) 1 and 2 only
c.) 2 and 3 only
d.) 1, 2 and 3
(True Copy)
128
Annexure P-24
Official Answer Key of Civil Services Preliminary Exam, 2011:
Examination Civil Services(Preliminary) Exam. 2011
Series A Subject General
Studies Paper-
I
Maximum Marks 200 No. Of items 100
No. Of Items to be 100 No. Of items NIL taken for scoring dropped
1 B 16 D 31 B 46 D 61 D 76 D 91 C
2 D 17 D 32 A 47 D 62 D 77 A 92 C
3 A 18 B 33 C 48 C 63 A 78 B 93 C
4 B 19 A 34 D 49 D 64 C 79 B 94 A
5 C 20 C 35 B 50 C 65 A 80 A 95 C
6 A 21 B 36 B 51 B 66 A 81 D 96 C
7 C 22 B 37 C 52 D 67 B 82 D 97 B
8 B 23 A 38 D 53 D 68 A 83 A 98 B
9 B 24 B 39 D 54 B 69 B 84 D 99 B 129
10 D 25 C 40 C 55 D 70 B 85 D 100 C
11 D 26 D 41 D 56 C 71 B 86 B
12 A 27 D 42 B 57 A 72 B 87 B
13 C 28 B 43 D 58 C 73 A 88 A
14 B 29 A 44 A 59 B 74 B 89 A
15 D 30 C 45 D 60 A 75 C 90 B
(True Copy) 130
Annexure P-25
The Constitution (Seventy-Third Amendment) Act, 1992 (dated 2017)
Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the Constitution
(Seventy-Second Amendment) Bill, 1991 which was enacted as the
Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992
Statement Of Objects And Reasons
1. Though the Panchayati Raj Institutions have been in existence for a
long time, it has been observed that these institutions have not
been able to acquire the status and dignity of viable and responsive
people's bodies due to a number of reasons including absence of
regular elections, prolonged supersessions, insufficient
representation of weaker sections like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled
Tribes and women, inadequate devolution of powers and lack of
financial resources.
2. Article 40 of the Constitution which enshrines one of the Directive
Principles of State Policy lays down that the State shall take steps to
organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and
authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units
of self-government. In the light of the experience in the last forty
years and in view of the short-comings which have been observed,
it is considered that there is an imperative need to enshrine in the 131
Constitution certain basic and essential features of Panchayati Raj
Institutions to impart certainty, continuity and strength to them.
3. Accordingly, it is proposed to add a new Part relating to Panchayats
in the Constitution to provide for among other things ,Gram Sabha
in a village or group of villages; constitution of Panchayats at village
and other level or levels; direct elections to all seats in Panchayats
at the village and intermediate level, if any, and to the offices of
Chairpersons of Panchayats at such levels; reservation of seats for
the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their
population for membership of Panchayats and office of Chairpersons
in Panchayats at each level; reservation of not less than one-third of
the seats for women; fixing tenure of 5 years for Panchayats and
holding elections within a period of 6 months in the event of
supersession of any Panchayat; disqualifications for membership of
Panchayats; devolution by the State Legislature of powers and
responsibilities upon the Panchayats with respect to the preparation
of plans for economic developments and social justice and for the
implementation of development schemes; sound finance of the
Panchayats by securing authorisation from State Legislatures for
grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the
State, as also assignment to, or appropriation by, the Panchayats of
the revenues of designated taxes, duties, tolls and fees; setting up
of a Finance Commission within one year of the proposed
amendment and thereafter every 5 years to review the financial 132
position of Panchayats; auditing of accounts of the Panchayats;
powers of State Legislatures to make provisions with respect to
elections to Panchayats under the superintendence, direction and
control of the chief electoral officer of the State; application of the
provisions of the said Part to Union territories; excluding certain
States and areas from the application of the provisions of the said
Part; continuance of existing laws and Panchayats until one year
from the commencement of the proposed amendment and barring
interference by courts in electoral matters relating to Panchayats.
4. The Bill seeks to achieve the aforesaid objectives.
The 10th September, 1991.
The Constitution (Seventy-Third Amendment) Act, 1992 [20th April,
1993.]
An Act further to amend the Constitution of India.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-third Year of the Republic
of India as follows:-
5. Short title and commencement. –
(1) This Act may be called the Constitution (Seventy-third
Amendment) Act, 1992.
(2) It shall come into force on such date__ as the Central
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint. 133
1. Insertion of new Part IX.- After Part VIII of the Constitution, the
following Part shall be inserted, namely:
Part IX
The Panchayats
243. Definitions.- In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "district" means a district in a State;
(b) "Gram Sabha" means a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village comprised within the area of
Panchayat at the village level;
(c) "Intermediate level" means a level between the village and district levels specified by the Governor of a State by public notification to be the intermediate level for the purposes of this Part;
(d) "Panchayat" means an institution (by whatever name called) of self-government constituted under article 243B, for the rural areas;
(e) "Panchayat area" means the territorial area of a Panchayat;
(f) "population" means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published;
(g) "village" means a village specified by the Governor by public notification to be a village for the purposes of this Part and includes a group of villages so specified. 134
243A. Gram Sabha- A Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide.
243B. Constitution of Panchayats- (1) There shall be constituted in every State, Panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels in accordance with the provisions of this Part.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in clause (1), Panchayats at the intermediate level may not be constituted in a State having a population not exceeding twenty lakhs.
243C. Composition of Panchayats- (1) Subject to the provisions of this
Part, the Legislature of a State may, by law, make provisions with respect to the composition of Panchayats:
Provided that the ratio between the population of the territorial area of a Panchayat at any level and the number of seats in such Panchayat to be filled by election shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the State.
(2) All the seats in a Panchayat shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area and; for this purpose, each Panchayat area shall be divided into territorial constituencies in such manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it 135 shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the Panchayat area.
(3) The Legislature of a State may, by law, provide for the representation-
(a) of the Chairpersons of the Panchayats at the village level, in the
Panchayats at the intermediate level or, in the case of a State not having Panchayats at the intermediate level, in the Panchayats at the district level;
(b) of the Chairpersons of the Panchayats at the intermediate level, in the Panchayats at the district level;
(c) of the members of the House of the People and the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State representing constituencies which comprise wholly or partly a Panchayat area at a level other than the village level, in such Panchayat;
(d) of the members of the Council of States and the members of the
Legislative Council of the State, where they are registered as electors within-
(i) a Panchayat area at the intermediate level, in Panchayat at the intermediate level;
(ii) a Panchayat area at the district level, in Panchayat at the district level. 136
(4) The Chairperson of a Panchayat and other members of a
Panchayat whether or not chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area shall have the right to vote in the meetings of the Panchayats.
(5) The Chairperson of –
(a) a Panchayat at the village level shall be elected in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide; and
(b) a Panchayat at the intermediate level or district level shall be elected by, and from amongst, the elected members thereof.
243D. Reservation of seats.-
(1) Seats shall be reserved for-
(a) the Scheduled Castes; and
(b) the Scheduled Tribes, in every Panchayat and the number of
seats of reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same
proportion to the total number of seats to be filled by direct
election in that Panchayat as the population of the Scheduled
Castes in that Panchayat area or of the Scheduled Tribes in that
Panchayat area bears to the total population of that area and
such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies
in a Panchayat. 137
(2) Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved under clause (1) shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled
Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes.
(3) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every
Panchayat shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat.
(4) The offices of the Chairpersons in the Panchayats at the village or any other level shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the
Scheduled Tribes and women in such manner as the Legislature of a
State may, by law, provide:
Provided that the number of offices of Chairpersons reserved for the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the Panchayats at each level in any State shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of such offices in the Panchayats at each level as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the State or of the
Scheduled Tribes in the State bears to the total population of the
State:
Provided further that not less than one-third of the total number of offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at each level shall be reserved for women: 138
Provided also that the number of offices reserved under this be allotted by rotation to different Panchayats at each level.
(5) The reservation of seats under clauses (1) and (2) and the reservation of offices of Chairpersons (other than the reservation for women) under clause (4) shall cease to have effect on the expiration of the period specified in article 334.
(6) Nothing in this Part shall prevent the Legislature of a State from making any provision for reservation of seats in any Panchayat or offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at any level in favour of backward class of citizens.
243E. Duration of Panchayats, etc.- (1) Every Panchayat, unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer.
(2) No amendment of any law for the time being in force shall have the effect of causing dissolution of a Panchayat at any level, which is functioning immediately before such amendment, till the expiration of its duration specified in clause (1).
(3) An election to constitute a Panchayat shall be completed-
(a) before the expiry of its duration specified in clause (1);
(b) before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution: 139
Provided that where the remainder of the period for which the dissolved Panchayat would have continued is less than six months, it shall not be necessary to hold any election under this clause for constituting the Panchayat for such period.
(4) A Panchayat constituted upon the dissolution of a Panchayat Before the expiration of its duration shall continue only for the remainder of the period for which the dissolved Panchayat would have continued under clause (1) had it not been so dissolved.
243F. Disqualifications for membership. –
(1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of a Panchayat- (a) if he is so disqualified by or under any law for the time being in force for the purposes of elections to the
Legislature of the State concerned:
Provided that no person shall be disqualified on the ground that he is less than twenty-five years of age, if he has attained the age of twenty-one years;
(b) if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by the Legislature of the State.
(2) If any question arises as to whether a member of a Panchayat has become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in clause (1), the question shall be referred for the decision of such authority and in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide. 140
243G. Powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats. – Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature of a State may, by law, endow the Panchayats with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government and such law may contain provisions for the devolution of powers and responsibilities upon Panchayats at the appropriate level, subject to such conditions as may be specified therein, with respect to-
(a) the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice;
(b) the implementation of schemes for economic development and
Social justice as may be entrusted to them including those in relation to the matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule.
243H. Powers to impose taxes by, and Funds of, the Panchayats- The
Legislature of a State may, by law,-
(a) authorise a Panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate such taxes, duties, tolls and fees in accordance with such procedure and subject to such limits;
(b) assign to a Panchayat such taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and collected by the State Government for such purposes and subject to such conditions and limits;
(c) provide for making such grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the
Consolidated Fund of the State; and 141
(d) provide for Constitution of such Funds for crediting all moneys received, respectively, by or on behalf of the Panchayats and also for the withdrawal of such moneys therefrom, as may be specified in the law.
243-I. Constitution of Finance Commission to review financial position.-
(1) The Governor of a State shall, as soon as may be within one year from the commencement of the Constitution (Seventy – third
Amendment) Act, 1992, and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth year, constitute a Finance Commission to review the financial position of the Panchayats and to make recommendations to the Governor as to-
(a) the principles which should govern-
(i) the distribution between the State and the Panchayats of the net proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the State, which may be divided between them under this Part and the allocation between the Panchayats at all levels of their respective shares of such proceeds;
(ii) the determination of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees which may be assigned to, or appropriated by, the Panchayat;
(iii) the grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the State; 142
(b) the measures needed to improve the financial position of the
Panchayats;
(c) any other matter referred to the Finance Commission by the
Governor in the interests of sound finance of the Panchayats.
(2) The Legislature of a State may, by law, provide for the composition of the commission, the qualifications which shall be requisite for appointment as members thereof and the manner in which they shall be selected.
(3) The Commission shall determine their procedure and shall havesuch powers in the performance of their functions as the
Legislature of the State may, by law, confer on them.
(4) The Governor shall cause every recommendation made by The
Commission under this article together with an explanatory
Memorandum as to the action taken thereon to be laid before the
Legislature of the State.
243J. Audit of accounts of Panchayats: The Legislature of a State may, by law, make provisions with respect to the maintenance of accounts by the Panchayats and the auditing of such accounts.
243K. Elections to the Panchayats:(1) The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the Panchayats shall be vested in a State Election 143
Commission consisting of a State Election Commissioner to be appointed by the Governor.
(2) Subject to the provisions of any law made by the Legislature of a
State, the conditions of service and tenure of office of the State
Election Commissioner shall be such as the Governor may by rule determine:
Provided that the State Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a
Judge of a High Court and the conditions of service of the State
Election Commissioner shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.
(3) The Governor of a State shall, when so requested by the State
Election Commission, make available to the State Election Commission such staff as may be necessary for the discharge of the functions conferred on the State Election Commission by clause (1).
(4) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature of a
State may, by law, make provision with respect to all matters relating to, or in connection with, elections to the Panchayats.
243L. Application to Union territories.-The provisions of this Part shall apply to the Union territories and shall, in their application to a Union territory, have effect as if the references to the Governor of a State were references to the Administrator of the Union territory appointed 144 under article 239 and references to the Legislature or the Legislative
Assembly of a State were references, in relation to a Union territory having a Legislative Assembly, to that Legislative Assembly:
Provided that the President may, by public notification, direct that the provisions of this Part shall apply to any Union territory or part thereof subject to such exceptions and modifications as he may specify in the notification.
243M. Part not to apply to certain areas-(1) Nothing in this Part shall apply to the Scheduled Areas referred to in clause (1), and the tribal areas referred to in clause (2), of article 244.
(2) Nothing in this Part shall apply to (a) the States of Nagaland,
Meghalaya and Mizoram; (b) the Hill Areas in the State of Manipur for which District Councils exist under any law for the time being in force.
(3) Nothing in this Part-
(a) relating to Panchayats at the district level shall apply to the hill areas of the District of Darjeeling in the State of West Bengal for which
Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council exists under any law for the time being in force;
(b) shall be construed to affect the functions and powers of the
Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council constituted under such law.
(4) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution,- 145
(a) the Legislature of a State referred to in sub-clause (a) of clause (2) may, by law, extend this Part to that State, except the areas, if any, referred to in clause (1), if the Legislative Assembly of that State passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of that House present and voting;
(b) Parliament may, by law, extend the provisions of this Part to the
Scheduled Areas and the tribal areas referred to in clause (1) subject to such exceptions and modifications as may be specified in such law, and no such law shall be deemed to be an amendment of this
Constitution for the purposes of article 368.
243N. Continuance of existing laws and Panchayats.- Notwithstanding anything in this P art, any provision of any law relating to Panchayats in force in a State immediately before the commencement of the
Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992, which is inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, shall continue to be in force until amended or repealed by a competent Legislature or other competent authority or until the expiration of one year from such commencement, whichever is earlier:
Provided that all the Panchayats existing immediately before such commencement shall continue till the expiration of their duration, unless sooner dissolved by a resolution passed to that effect by the 146
Legislative Assembly of that State or, in the case of a State having a
Legislative Council, by each House of the Legislature of that State.
243-O. Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters.-
Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution,- (a) the validity of any law relating to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such constituencies, made or purporting to be made under article 243K, shall not be called in question in any court;
1. no election to any Panchayat shall be called in question
except by an election petition presented to such authority
and in such manner a s is provided for by or under any law
made by the Legislature of a State.'.
(a) “...Constitution, after sub-clause (b), the following
sub-clause shall be inserted, namely:-
"(bb) the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a
State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats in the State on the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of
The State;".
Constitution, the following Schedule shall be added, namely:-
"Eleventh Schedule (Article 243G)
1. Agriculture, including agricultural extension. 147
2.Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, land consolidation and soil conservation.
3. Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development.
4. Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry.
5. Fisheries.
6. Social forestry and farm forestry.
7. Minor forest produce.
8. Small scale industries, including food processing industries.
9. Khadi, village and cottage industries.
10. Rural housing.
11. Drinking water.
12. Fuel and fodder.
13. Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means of communication.
14. Rural electrification, including distribution of electricity.
15. Non-conventional energy sources.
16. Poverty alleviation programme.
17. Education, including primary and secondary schools. 148
18. Technical training and vocational education.
19. Adult and non-formal education.
20. Libraries.
21. Cultural activities.
22. Markets and fairs.
23. Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centres and dispensaries.
24. Family welfare.
25. Women and child development.
26. Social welfare, including welfare of the handicapped and mentally retarded.
27. Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
28. Public distribution system.
29. Maintenance of community assets."
(True Copy)
149
150
Annexure P-26
The Constitution (Seventy-Fourth Amendment) Act, 1992 (printed
2017)
Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the Constitution:
(Seventy-third Amendment) Bill, 1991 which was enacted as the
Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992
In many States local bodies have become weak and ineffective on account of a variety of reasons, including the failure to hold regular elections, prolonged supersessions and inadequate devolution of powers and functions. As a result, Urban Local Bodies are not able to perform effectively as vibrant democratic units of self-government.
2. Having regard to these inadequacies, it is considered necessary that provisions relating to Urban Local Bodies are incorporated in the
Constitution particularly for-
(i) putting on a firmer footing the relationship between the State
Government and the Urban Local Bodies with respect to-
(a) the functions and taxation powers; and
(b) arrangements for revenue sharing;
(ii) Ensuring regular conduct of elections;
(iii) ensuring timely elections in the case of supersession; and 151
(iv) providing adequate representation for the weaker sections like
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women.
3. Accordingly, it is proposed to add a new part relating to the Urban
Local Bodies in the Constitution to provide for-
(a) constitution of three types of Municipalities:
(i) Nagar Panchayats for areas in transition from a rural area to urban area;
(ii) Municipal Councils for smaller urban areas;
(iii) Municipal Corporations for larger urban areas.
The broad criteria for specifying the said areas is being provided in the proposed article 243-0;
(b) composition of Municipalities, which will be decided by the
Legislature of a State, having the following features:
(i) persons to be chosen by direct election;
(ii) representation of Chairpersons of Committees, if any, at ward or other levels in the Municipalities;
(iii) representation of persons having special knowledge or experience of Municipal Administration in Municipalities (without voting rights);
(c) election of Chairpersons of a Municipality in the manner specified in the State law; 152
(d) constitution of Committees at ward level or other level or levels within the territorial area of a Municipality as may be provided in the
State law;
(e) reservation of seats in every Municipality-
(i) fo r Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population of which not less than one-third shall be for women;
(ii) for women which shall not less than one-third of the total number of seats;
(iii) in favour of backward class of citizens if so provided by the
Legislature of the State;
(iv) for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women in the office of
Chairpersons as may be specified in the State law;
(f) fixed tenure of 5 years for the Municipality and re-election within six months of end of tenure. If a Municipality is dissolved before expiration of its duration, elections to be held within a period of six months of its dissolution;
(g) devolution by the State Legislature of powers and responsibilities upon the Municipalities with respect to preparation of plans for economic development and social justice, and for the implementation of development schemes as may be required to enable them to function as institutions of self-government; 153
(h) levy of taxes and duties by Municipalities, assigning of such taxes and duties to Municipalities by State Governments and for making grants-in-aid by the State to the Municipalities as may be provided in the State law;
(i) a Finance Commission to review the finances of the Municipalities and to recommend principles for-
(1) determining the taxes which may be assigned to the Municipalities;
(2) Sharing of taxes between the State and Municipalities;
(3) grants-in-aid to the Municipalities from the Consolidated Fund of the State;
(j) audit of accounts of the Municipal Corporations by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India and laying of reports before the
Legislature of the State and the Municipal Corporation concerned;
(k) making of law by a State Legislature with respect to elections to the Municipalities to be conducted under the superintendence, direction and control of the chief electoral officer of the State;
(l) application of the provisions of the Bill to any Union territory or part thereof with such modifications as may be specified by the President;
(m) exempting Scheduled areas referred to in clause (1), and tribal areas referred to in clause (2), of article 244, from the application of 154 the provisions of the Bill. Extension of provisions of the Bill to such areas may be done by Parliament by law;
(n) disqualifications for membership of a Municipality;
(o) bar of jurisdiction of Courts in matters relating to elections to the
Municipalities.
4. The Bill seeks to achieve the aforesaid objectives.
THE CONSTITUTION (SEVENTY-FOURTH AMENDMENT) ACT,1992
An Act further to amend the Constitution of India.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-third Year of the Republic of
India as follows:-
1. Short title and commencement.-(1) This Act may be called the
Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992.
(2) It shall come into force on such date_681 as the Central
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Insertion of new Part IXA -After Part IX of the Constitution, the following Part shall be inserted, namely:-
PART IXA
THE MUNICIPALITIES
243P. Definitions-In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,- 155
(a) "Committee" means a Committee constituted under article 243S;
(b) "district" means a district in a State;
(c) "Metropolitan area" means an area having a population of ten lakhs or more, comprised in one or more districts and consisting of two or more Municipalities or Panchayats or other contiguous areas, specified by the Governor by public notification to be a Metropolitan area for the purposes of this Part;
(d) "Municipal area" means the territorial area of a Municipality as is notified by the Governor;
(e) "Municipality" means an institution of self-government constituted under article 243Q;
(f) "Panchayat" means a Panchayat constituted under article 243B;
(g) "population" means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published.
243Q. Constitution of Municipalities.-(1) There shall be constituted in every State,-
(a) a Nagar Panchayat (by whatever name called) for a transitional area, that is to say, an area in transition from a rural area to an urban area;
(b) a Municipal Council for a smaller urban area; and 156
(c) a Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area, in accordance with the provisions of this Part:
Provided that a Municipality under this clause may not be constituted in such urban area or part thereof as the Governor may, having regard to the size of the area and the municipal services being provided or proposed to be provided by an industrial establishment in that area and such other factors as he may deem fit, by public notification, specify to be an industrial township.
(2) In this article, "a transitional area", "a smaller urban area" or "a larger urban area" means such area as the Governor may, having regard to the population of the area, the density of the population therein, the revenue generated for local administration, the percentage of employment in non-agricultural activities, the economic importance or such other factors as he may deem fit, specify by public notification for the purposes of this Part.
243R. Composition of Municipalities- (1) Save as provided in clause
(2), all the seats in a Municipality shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from the territorial constituencies in the Municipal area and for this purpose each Municipal area shall be divided into territorial constituencies to be known as wards.
(2) The Legislature of a State may, by law, provide-
(a) for the representation in a Municipality of- 157
(i) persons having special knowledge or experience in Municipal administration;
(ii) the members of the House of the People and the members of the
Legislative Assembly of the State representing constituencies which comprise wholly or partly the Municipal area;
(iii) the members of the Council of States and the members of the
Legislative Council of the State registered as electors within the
Municipal area;
(iv) the Chairpersons of the Committees constituted under clause (5) of article 243S:
Provided that the persons referred to in paragraph (i) shall not have the right to vote in the meetings of the Municipality;
(b) the manner of election of the Chairperson of a Municipality. 243S.
Constitution and composition of Wards Committees, etc.
(1) There shall be constituted Wards Committees, consisting of one or more wards, within the territorial area of a Municipality having a population of three lakhs or more.
(2) The Legislature of a State may, by law, make provision with respect to-
(a) the composition and the territorial area of a Wards Committee;
(b) the manner in which the seats in a Wards Committee shall be filled. 158
(3) A member of a Municipality representing a ward within the territorial area of the Wards Committee shall be a member of that
Committee.
(4) Where a Wards Committee consists of-
(a) one ward, the member representing that ward in the Municipality; or
(b) two or more wards, one of the members representing such wards in the Municipality elected by the members of the Wards Committee, shall be the Chairperson of that Committee.
(5) Nothing in this article shall be deemed to prevent the Legislature of a State from making any provision for the constitution of Committees in addition to the Wards Committees.
243T. Reservation of seats.-(1) Seats shall be reserved for the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in every Municipally and the number of seats so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in that Municipality as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the Municipal area or of the Scheduled Tribes in the Municipal area bears to the total population of that area and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality. 159
(2) Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved under clause (1) shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled
Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes.
(3) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every
Municipality shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality.
(4) The officers of Chairpersons in the Municipalities shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and women in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide.
(5) The reservation of seats under clauses (1) and (2) and the reservation of offices of Chairpersons (other than the reservation for women) under clause (4) shall cease to have effect on the expiration of the period specified in article 334.
(6) Nothing in this Part shall prevent the Legislature of a State from making any provision for reservation of seats in any Municipality or offices of Chairpersons in the Municipalities in favour of backward class of citizens.
243U. Duration of Municipalities, etc.-(1) Every Municipality, unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall 160 continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer:
Provided that a Municipality shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before its dissolution.
(2) No amendment of any law for the time being in force shall have the effect of causing dissolution of a Municipality at any level, which is functioning immediately before such amendment, till the expiration of its duration specified in clause (1).
(3) An election to constitute a Municipality shall be completed,-
(a) before the expiry of its duration specified in clause (1);
(b) before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution:
Provided that where the remainder of the period for which the dissolved Municipality would have continued is less than six months, it shall not be necessary to hold any election under this clause for constituting the Municipality for such period.
(4) A Municipality constituted upon the dissolution of a Municipality before the expiration of its duration shall continue only for the remainder of the period for which the dissolved Municipality would have continued under clause (1) had it not been so dissolved. 161
243V. Disqualifications for membership.-(1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of a
Municipality-
(a) if he is so disqualified by or under any law for the time being in force for the purposes of elections to the Legislature of the State concerned:
Provided that no person shall be disqualified on the ground that he is less than twenty-five years of age, if he has attained the age of twenty-one years;
(b) if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by the Legislature of the State.
(2) If any question arises as to whether a member of a Municipality has become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in clause
(1), the question shall be referred for the decision of such authority and in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide.
243W. Powers, authority and responsibilities of Municipalities, etc.-
Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature of a State may, by law, endow-
(a) the Municipalities with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government and such law may contain provisions for the devolution of powers and 162 responsibilities upon Municipalities, subject to such conditions as may be specified therein, with respect to-
(i) the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice;
(ii) the performance of functions and the implementation of schemes as may be entrusted to them including those in relation to the matters listed in the Twelfth Schedule;
(b) the Committees with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to carry out the responsibilities conferred upon them including those in relation to the matters listed in the
Twelfth Schedule
243X. Power to impose taxes by, and Funds of, the Municipalities.-The
Legislature of a State may, by law,-
(a) authorize a Municipality to levy, collect and appropriate such taxes, duties, tolls and fees in accordance with such procedure and subject to such limits;
(b) assign to a Municipality such taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and collected by the State Government for such purposes and subject to such conditions and limits;
(c) provide for making such grants-in-aid to the Municipalities from the
Consolidated Fund of the State; and 163
(d) provide for constitution of such Funds for crediting all moneys received, respectively, by or on behalf of the Municipalities and also for the withdrawal of such moneys there from as may be specified in the law.
243Y. Finance Commission.-(1) The Finance Commission constituted under article 243-I shall also review the financial position of the
Municipalities and make recommendations to the Governor as to-
(a) the principles which should govern
(i) the distribution between the State and the Municipalities of the net proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the State, which may be divided between them under this Part and the allocation between the Municipalities at all levels of their respective shares of such proceeds;
(ii) the determination of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees which may be assigned to, or appropriated by, the Municipalities;
(iii) the grants-in-aid to the Municipalities from the Consolidated Fund of the State;
(b) the measures needed to improve the financial position of the
Municipalities;
(c) any other matter referred to the Finance Commission by the
Governor in the interests of sound finance of the Municipalities. 164
(2) The Governor shall cause every recommendation made by the
Commission under this article together with an explanatory memorandum as to the action taken thereon to be laid before the
Legislature of the State.
243Z. Audit of accounts of Municipalities.-The Legislature of a State may, by law, make provisions with respect to the maintenance of accounts by the Municipalities and the auditing of such accounts.
243ZA. Elections to the Municipalities.-(1) The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the Municipalities shall be vested in the
State Election Commission referred to in article 243K.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature of a
State may, by law, make provision with respect to all matters relating to, or in connection with, elections to the Municipalities.
243ZB. Application to Union territories.-The provisions of this Part shall apply to the Union territories and shall, in their application to a Union territory, have effect as if the references to the Governor of a State were references to the Administrator of the Union territory appointed under article 239 and references to the Legislature or the Legislative
Assembly of a State were references in relation to a Union territory having a Legislative Assembly, to that Legislative Assembly: 165
Provided that the President may, by public notification, direct that the provisions of this Part shall apply to any Union territory or part thereof subject to such exceptions and modifications as he may specify in the notification.
243ZC. Part not to apply to certain areas.-(1) Nothing in this Part shall apply to the Scheduled Areas referred to in clause (1), and the tribal areas referred to in clause (2), of article 244.
(2) Nothing in this Part shall be construed to affect the functions and powers of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council constituted under any law for the time being in force for the hill areas of the district of Darjeeling in the State of West Bengal.
(3) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament may, bylaw, extend the provisions of this Part to the Scheduled Areas and the tribal areas referred to in clause (1) subject to such exceptions and modifications as may be specified in such law, and no such law shall be deemed to be an amendment of this Constitution for the purposes of article 368.
243ZD. Committee for district planning.-(1) There shall be constituted in every State at the district level a District Planning Committee to consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats and the
Municipalities in the district and to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole. 166
(2) The Legislature of a State may, by law, make provision with respect to-
(a) the composition of the District Planning Committees;
(b) the manner in which the seats in such Committees shall be filled:
Provided that not less than four-fifths of the total number of members of such Committee shall be elected by, and from amongst, the elected members of the Panchayat at the district level and of the Municipalities in the district in proportion to the ratio between the population of the rural areas and of the urban areas in the district;
(c) the functions relating to district planning which may be assigned to such Committees;
(d) the manner in which the Chairpersons of such Committees shall be chosen.
(3) Every District Planning Committee shall, in preparing the draft development plan,-
(a) have regard to-
(i) matters of common interest between the Panchayats and the
Municipalities including spatial planning, sharing of water and other physical and natural resources, the integrated development of infrastructure and environmental conservation; 167
(ii) the extent and type of available resources whether financial or otherwise;
(b) consult such institutions and organisations as the Governor may, by order, specify.
(4) The Chairperson of every District Planning Committee shall forward the development plan, as recommended by such Committee, to the
Government of the State.
243ZE. Committee for Metropolitan planning-(I) There shall be constituted in every Metropolitan area a Metropolitan Planning
Committee to prepare a draft development plan for the Metropolitan area as a whole.
(2) The Legislature of a State may, by law, make provision with respect to-
(a) the composition of the Metropolitan Planning Committees;
(b) the manner in which the seats in such Committees shall be filled:
Provided that not less than two-thirds of the members of such
Committee shall be elected by, and from amongst, the elected
Members of the Municipalities and Chairpersons of the Panchayats in the Metropolitan area in proportion to the ratio between the population of the Municipalities and of the Panchayats in that area;
(c) the representation in such Committees of the Government of India 168 and the Government of the State and of such organisations and institutions as may be deemed necessary for carrying out the functions assigned to such Committees;
(d) the functions relating to planning and coordination for the
Metropolitan area which may be assigned to such Committees;
(e) the manner in which the Chairpersons of such Committees shall be chosen.
(3) Every Metropolitan Planning Committee shall, in preparing the draft development plan,-
(a) have regard to-
(i) the plans prepared by the Municipalities and the Panchayats in the
Metropolitan area;
(ii) matters of common interest between the Municipalities and the
Panchayats, including co-ordinated spatial planning of the area, sharing of water and other physical and natural resources, the integrated development of infrastructure and environmental conservation;
(iii) the overall objectives and priorities set by the Government of India and the Government of the State;
(iv) the extent and nature of investments likely to be made in the
Metropolitan area by agencies of the Government of India and of the 169
Government of the State and other available resources whether financial or otherwise;
(b) consult such institutions and organisations as the Governor may, by order, specify.
(4) The Chairperson of every Metropolitan Planning Committee shall forward the development plan, as recommended by such Committee, to the Government of the State.
243ZF. Continuance of existing laws and Municipalities.-
Notwithstanding anything in this Part, any provision of any law relating to Municipalities in force in a State immediately before the commencement of THE CONSTITUTION (Seventy-fourth Amendment)
Act, 1992,which is inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, shall continue to be in force until amended or repealed by a competent
Legislature or other competent authority or until the expiration of one year from such commencement, whichever is earlier:
Provided that all the Municipalities existing immediately before such commencement shall continue till the expiration of their duration, unless sooner dissolved by a resolution passed to that effect by the
Legislative Assembly of that State or, in the case of a State having a
Legislative Council, by each House of the Legislature of that State.
243ZG. Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters.- 170
Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution,-
(a) the validity of any law relating to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such constituencies, made or purporting to be made under article 243ZA shall not be called in question in any court;
(b) no election to any Municipality shall be called in question except by an election petition presented to such authority and in such manner as is provided for by or under any law made by the Legislature of a
State.'.
3. Amendment of article 280.- In clause (3) of article 280 of the
Constitution, sub-clause (c) shall be re lettered as sub-clause (d) and before sub-clause (d) as so re lettered, the following sub-clause shall be inserted, namely:-
"(c) the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a
State to supplement the resources of the Municipalities in the State on the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of
The State;".
4. Addition of Twelfth Schedule.-After the Eleventh Schedule to the
Constitution, the following Schedule shall be added, namely:-
"TWELFTH SCHEDULE
(Article 243W) 171
1. Urban planning including town planning.
2. Regulation of land-use and construction of buildings.
3. Planning for economic and social development.
4. Roads and bridges.
5. Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes.
6. Public health, sanitation conservancy and solid waste management.
7. Fire services.
8. Urban forestry, protection of the environment and promotion of ecological aspects.
9. Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of society, including the handicapped and mentally retarded.
10. Slum improvement and upgradation.
11. Urban poverty alleviation.
12. Provision of urban amenities and facilities such as parks, gardens, playgrounds.
13. Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects.
14. Burials and burial grounds; cremations, cremation grounds and electric crematoriums.
15. Cattle pounds; prevention of cruelty to animals. 172
16. Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths.
17. Public amenities including street lighting, parking lots, bus stops and public conveniences.
18. Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries.''.
(True Copy)
173
Annexure P-27
Letter from UPSC to Mr. Shashi Tharoor for UPSC CS Mains Essay 2016
Concern:
To,
Dr Shashi Tharoor
MP (Lok Sabha)
Chairman, External Affairs Committee of Parliament,
111 Parliament House Annexe,
New Delhi 110001
Subject: Letter regarding Essay Paper of Civil Services (main)
Examination, 2016.
Sir,
This is with reference to your letter dated 14.12.2016 on the aforesaid subject and in this connection, it is mentioned that question papers are prepared and evaluated by the experts. The matter has been further examined in the Commission in consultation with the experts in the light of references received. I am to state that the Commission has noted that as there could be different interpretations of the term
‘engender’, the different acceptable interpretation will be considered valid during the evaluation of the essay paper to protect candidate’s interest.
I trust this will address the issue raised by you. 174
Yours faithfully
Sd/-
(MP Tangirala)
AS & Controller of Examination
(Additional Secretary)
UPSC
(True Copy)
175
Annexure P-28
Compilation of Notices, Advertisements released from various State
Public Service Commissions regarding Objections over Answer keys and Revised Answer Key release subsequently, dated 2017
Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission Objection Format:
Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission
“Pratibha Bhavan”, Nampally, Hyderabad – 500 001
Format For Filing Objections Against Questions In Examinations
Table 1: Details Of The Candidate
dated 2017
Name of the
Candidate
Examination ID
Name of the
Examination
Postal address of the candidate for communication
Mobile Number 176
Details Of Objections
Subject: (For each subject, separate table shall be used)
Question ID/ Brief Details of Details of
Number as Description of Objection (not Standard
given in the the Question more than 100 Reference in
published words) support of
key objection (not
more than 100
words)
Verification
I hereby certify that I appeared in the above examination and the subjections mentioned above. The details written by me at Table 1 177 are correct and pertain to me. The objections stated by me in the above tables are based on standard reference books on the concerned subject. I understand that APPSC would not accept application by any other mode like messages on e-mail, mobile, whatsapp etc and only written objections would be accepted. I also understand that objections received at APPSC after 7 days from the date of publication of key by APPSC would not be entertained and APPSC is not responsible for postal delays.
(Name & Signature of the Candidate)
Bihar Public Service Commission
15, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg(Bailey Road) Patna---800001
Important Notice
Under 6oth, 61st, 62nd combined Competitive Examination(Preliminary),
General studies subject paper examination was conducted on
12.02.2017 in state at 390 centres, which had objective type questions. Answers of all questions of the subject question paper series ‘A’,’ B’,’ C’, and ’ D’ will be available on www.bpsc.bih.nic.in.
Hereby it is informed to appeared candidates who have any objection/suggestion against answer of any question of any series, need to send their any objection concerned with supporting evidences/source mentioning their (Name, Roll Number, Address) in 178 given below Objection Form, to Under Secretary Examination
Controller, Bihar Public Service Commission, Bailey Road, Patna-
800001 via speed post such that are received till 5:30 pm 24.04.2017.
Do write Examination name on envelope. After said time and date, objection and suggestion will not be considered.
The answers provided by the commission are totally provisional. Till above mentioned date objection and suggestion received from the objectioners will be considered and intensively reviewed by the subject experts committee and after intensive review, final Model Answer will be prepared. On the basis of final Model Answer by the subject experts committee O.M.R Answer Sheet will be checked.
Objection Form
60th, 61st, 62nd Combined Competitive Entrance Preliminary
Examination
Roll Number...... Name...... Question Paper Series....
Serial Question Commission Candidate’s Basis/Source/Evidence
No. No. Answer suggested of Objection
Answer
179
(Name and signature of the Candidate with date)
Candidate Contact/Mobile Number
Under Secretary Exam Controller,
Bihar Public Service Commission,
Patna
Uttarakhand Public Service Commission Civil Judge Answer Objection
Notification:
Uttarakhand Public Service Commission, Gurukul, Kangadi, Haridwar
Advertisement :
The answers of four question paper series (A, B,C,D) of Uttarakhand
Judicial Service Civil Judge preliminary examination-2016 are been provided to candidates and will be available on Uttarakhand Public
Service Commission website http://www.ukpsc.gov.in from 17th June
2017 to 26th June 2017(last date and time till 23:59:59). If any candidate has objection to answers over any question series, need to send their email in required format to [email protected] as directed and available on commission website. without support of evidence, no email will be acted upon. In this context other than email, no post and other communication medium will be accepted in any circumstance. After last date and time mentioned, no objection will be accepted in any case. 180
(Dr. Ram Vilas Yadav)
Secretary
Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Competitive Examination
2016(advertisement no. –23/2016) related Notice
Hereby it is informed that answer keys of Combined Civil Services
Competitive Examination 2016(advertisement no. –23/2016) was made available on commission website www.jpsc.gov.in, and candidates were asked to send their objections against Commission Answer Key till 03.01.2017, 5:30 pm via speed post/post/hand to hand communication.
After intensive consideration of objections from candidates over answer key against Commission Answer Key, Answer Key has been revised and is available on the commission website wwww.jpsc.gov.in.
Signature,
Secretary
Jharkhand Public Service Commission
Revised Answer Key from Public Commission website:
Revised Answer Key
GS Paper I
Series- A Series - B Series – C Series – D 181
Q. Correct Q. Correct Q. No. Correct Q. No. Correct
No. Option No. Option Option Option
42 C 90 C 70 C 50 C
65 B 13 B 93 B 73 B
GS Paper II
Series- A Series- B Series- C Series- D
Q. Correct Q. Correct Q. No. Correct Q. No. Correct
No. Option No. Option Option Option
13 None 8 None 3 None of 33 None of
of the of the the the
option option option option is
is is is correct, 2
correct, correct, correct, marks will
2 2 2 marks be given
marks marks will be to all
will be will be given to
given given all
to all to all
15 B 10 B 5 B 35 B
182
(True Copy) 183
Annexure P-29
Order of in Writ Petition 564 of 2017:
Item No.2, Court No.2, Section PIL-W
Supreme Court of India
Record of Proceedings
Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 564/2017
Ashita Chawla ...Petitioner(s)
Versus
Union Public Service Commission ...Respondent(s)
(For Admission and Permission to Appear and Argue In Person)
Date: 01-08-2017 This petition was called on for hearing today.
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DIPAK MISRA
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMITAVA ROY
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE A.M. KHANWILKAR
Ms. Binu Tamta, AOR
Mr. Dhruv Tamta, Adv.
For Petitioner(s) Mr. Colin Gonsalves, Sr. Adv.
Petitioner-in-person 184
For Respondent(s) Mr. P.S. Patwalia, ASG
Mr. Hrishikesh Baruah, AOR
Ms. Radhika Gupta, Adv.
Mr. Siddhant Kaushik, Adv.
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R
1.8.2017
Heard Mr. Colin Gonsalves, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner, Mr. P.S. Patwalia, learned senior counsel appearing for the
Union Public Service Commission and Ms. Binu Tamta, learned counsel who was requested to assist the Court.
Having heard learned counsel for the parties, we do not perceive any merit in the writ petition. The writ petition is accordingly dismissed
(Gulshan Kumar Arora) (H.S. Parasher)
Court Master Assistant Registrar
(True Copy) 185
Annexure P-30
Email replies from the UPSC in response to representation email sent by petitioners, dated 2017
Response from UPSC against representation to petitioner no.1:
No.8.1(53)/2017-E.XXI
Union Public Service Commission
(Examination-XXI Section)
Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road,
New Delhi-110069
Dated the 23rd Aug., 2017.
To
Shri Vishal Rathi e-mail: [email protected]
Sub:- Grievance/ Complaint regarding ambiguities in questions of Civil
Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2017 – Reg.
Dear Candidate,
I am directed to refer to your email dated the 8th Aug., 2017 on the above cited subject and to say that the Questions and the corresponding Answer Keys of the Civil Services (Preliminary)
Examination, 2017 were prepared by the different panels of experts. Subsequently, different sets of expert reviewed the questions and the corresponding answer keys on completion of examination. 186
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
(S.K. Sehgal)
Under Secretary
Union Public Service Commission
Response from UPSC against representation email to petitioner no.2:
No.8.1(53)/2017-E.XXI
Union Public Service Commission
(Examination-XXI Section)
Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road,
New Delhi-110069
Dated the 23rd Aug., 2017.
To
Shri Vaibhav Tiwari e-mail: [email protected]
Sub:-Grievance/ Complaint regarding ambiguities in questions of Civil
Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2017 – Reg.
Dear Candidate,
I am directed to refer to your email dated the 8th Aug., 2017 on the above cited subject and to say that the Questions and the 187 corresponding Answer Keys of the Civil Services (Preliminary)
Examination, 2017 were prepared by the different panels of experts. Subsequently, different sets of expert reviewed the questions and the corresponding answer keys on completion of examination.
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
(S.K. Sehgal)
Under Secretary
Union Public Service Commission
Response from UPSC against representation email to petitioner no. 3:
No.8.1(53)/2017-E.XXI
Union Public Service Commission
(Examination-XXI Section)
Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road,
New Delhi-110069
Dated the 23rd Aug., 2017.
To,
Shri Niraj Kumar Singh e-mail : [email protected]
Sub:- Grievance/ Complaint regarding ambiguities in questions of Civil
Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2017 – Reg.
Dear Candidate, 188
I am directed to refer to your email dated the 8th Aug.,
2017 on the above cited subject and to say that the Questions and the corresponding Answer Keys of the Civil Services (Preliminary)
Examination, 2017 were prepared by the different panels of experts. Subsequently, different sets of expert reviewed the questions and the corresponding answer keys on completion of examination.
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
(S.K. Sehgal)
Under Secretary
Union Public Service Commission
Response from UPSC against representation email to petitioner no. 4:
No.8.1(53)/2017-E.XXI
Union Public Service Commission
(Examination-XXI Section)
Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road,
New Delhi-110069
Dated the 23rd Aug., 2017.
To
Shri Ravi Kant Dwivedi e-mail : [email protected] 189
Sub:- Grievance/ Complaint regarding ambiguities in questions of Civil
Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2017 – Reg.
Dear Candidate,
I am directed to refer to your email dated the 9th Aug, 2017 and 17thAug. 2017 on the above cited subject and to say that the
Questions and the corresponding Answer Keys of the Civil Services
(Preliminary) Examination, 2017 were prepared by the different panels of experts. Subsequently, different sets of expert reviewed the questions and the corresponding answer keys on completion of examination.
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
(S.K. Sehgal)
Under Secretary
Union Public Service Commission
Response from UPSC against representation email to petitioner no. 5:
No.8.1(53)/2017-E.XXI
Union Public Service Commission
(Examination-XXI Section)
Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road,
New Delhi-110069
Dated the 29th Aug., 2017. 190
To
Shri Iznallah e-mail : [email protected]
Sub:- Grievance/ Complaint regarding ambiguities in questions of Civil
Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2017 – Reg.
Dear Candidate,
I am directed to refer to your email dated the 19th Aug., 2017 on the above cited subject and to say that the Questions and the corresponding Answer Keys of the Civil Services (Preliminary)
Examination, 2017 were prepared by the different panels of experts. Subsequently, different sets of expert reviewed the questions and the corresponding answer keys on completion of examination.
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
(S.K. Sehgal)
Under Secretary
Union Public Service Commission
(True Copy)