Reveal cut-off marks in civil service prelims, HC to UPSC

The Delhi High Court today directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to make public the cut-off marks obtained by candidates in preliminary test of the civil services examination.     

"We observed that the documents submitted by UPSC in a sealed cover, are not of such nature that can be characterised as secret, or of a type the disclosure of which would not be in public interest," observed a Division Bench of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar in a judgement.     

Upholding the April 17, 2007 order passed by a single judge favouring the CIC's decision which had held that disclosure of information pertaining to cut-off marks would not harm the interest of UPSC or any third party, the Bench dismissed a petition filed by the Commission against the single judge's order.     

The Bench also dismissed the apprehension of UPSC that by disclosing the working of the scaling methodology for preliminary examination, merit can get compromised and candidates with less merit would be selected and said "...We are of the view that the apprehension of UPSC is not well founded".