TGPSC Group 1 Mains Exam Continues Amid Controversy As Supreme Court Refuses To Postpone It

HYDRABAD: The Telangana State Public Service Commission (TGPSC) Group 1 Main examinations began on October 21, 2024 amid controversy, after the Supreme Court refused to grant a stay on their conduct.

The exams began at 46 centers in the afternoon after the Supreme Court rejected the petitions filed by some candidates, challenging an order given by the Telangana High Court, refusing to postpone the exams.

Some candidates have been staging protests, demanding that the exam be postponed until High Court decides on their pleas challenging the Government Order (G.O.) 29, which tweaked the reservation rules. The Opposition parties including the BRS and the BJP had backed their demand.

After the apex court refused to pass interim orders to stop the exam, the TGPSC went ahead with the conduct of the exam to fill 563 Group-I posts in various departments of the state government.

Candidates, who had reached the exam centres much before the scheduled time of 2 p.m., were anxiously waiting for the Supreme Court orders. Once it became clear that the Supreme Court dismissed the petitions, the authorities went ahead with the exams at all 46 centres in Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and Medchal Malkajgiri districts.

A total of 31,383 candidates have applied for the exams, which will continue till October 27.

These candidates qualified for the Group-1 Mains examination out of around 3.02 lakh who appeared for the preliminary examination held in June.

Meanwhile, the police have made elaborate arrangements at the exam centres to prevent any protest or untoward incident. Officials are checking the hall tickets of the candidates before allowing them into designated centres.

On the first day, the candidates appeared for the General English paper. Authorities closed the gates an hour before the exam was scheduled to begin. Those coming late were not allowed

Meanwhile, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has conveyed his best wishes to the candidates writing the Group 1 exam. He advised the candidates to write the exams with full concentration without any worries. The Chief Minister wished that the candidates pass the exam and become partners in the reconstruction of Telangana.

This is the first time after the formation of Telangana that Group 1 Mains exams are being held. The last time the exams were held was in 2011.

The Group1 prelims have been marred by controversies over paper leaks and legal battles for not following the norms and irregularities in 2022 and 2023. Keeping this in view, the TGPSC has made fool-proof arrangements. Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari has asked all officials to leave no room for any irregularities.

 

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