The judgment focused on the interpretation and application of provisions under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Transfer of Property Act, 1882, Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and Indian Penal Code in the context of a competitive examination.

SUDIP AHLUWALIA, J.

These Writ Petitions have been filed by various examinees who had appeared at the Preliminary Examination for selection to the Punjab Civil Service (Judicial) on 15.1.2017. They are aggrieved with both the Final Revised Answer Key to the multiple choice questions put to them, as well as the consequent list of successful candidates drawn up on February 7, 2017. As such they seek issuance of Writs in the nature of ‘Certiorari’ and ‘Mandamus’ to quash the impugned Revised Answer Key and List of successful candidates, with further directions upon the Respondents to modify/restore the originally published Answer Key, and to consequently revise/reissue the list of successful candidates.

2. Background of the matter is that after holding the preliminary Examination, the Respondent No. 1 on its website published its original Answer Key to the various questions and invited objections/responses of the candidates to the same, if any. A number of objections and counter-objections were received, after considering which the authorised Committee of the Respondent made various changes to the original Answer Key and thereafter finally published the impugned Revised Answer Key followed by the list of successful candidates. It may also be mentioned that the Questionnaire Booklets provided to the examinees were themselves separately Code marked inasmuch as while the questions contained in the same were identical, yet their serial numbers differed in the various codified sets ostensibly to preclude any resort to unfair means in the Examination-Halls. However, a few typographical mistakes had crept in some of the Booklets, on account of which certain questions were directed to be deleted therefrom at the time of examination. The writ petitioners are also aggrieved that the answers given by them to the various questions were not only correct, but in some cases even tallied with the originally published Answer Key.

3. It may be observed at the outset that a Writ Court is normally not expected to revisit the ‘evaluation’ done after any particular examination. However the matter involved in the present case is not exactly ‘evaluation’, but an objective and a rather mechanical mode of assigning credit to the answers determined as ‘Correct’ out of the various specified options. Further, being also a Court of Law, we find no inhibition in proceeding to test correctness of the answers mostly pertaining to the Legal/Law-related matters covered in the impugned examination.

4. We have noted that grievances of the various Writ Petitioners relate to certain questions which are generally common in the various Writ Petitions, but not totally identical. Those questions impugned in each individual writ petition on the basis of the Questionnaire Booklet bearing Code ‘A’ are listed below –

CWP 3720 /2017 – Qs. 27 & 68;

CWP 4030/2017 – Qs. 22, 55, 58 & 86;

CWP 2822/2017 – Qs. 18, 22, 27, 55, 58, 68, 71 & 100;

CWP 4790/2017 – Qs. 22, 27, 55, 58, 65, 68 & 91;

CWP 4055/2017 – Qs. 55, 25, 27 & 28

CWP 3572/2017 – Qs. 22, 27 & 58

CWP 4892/2017 – Qs. 86, 58, 68 & 55

CWP 4509/2017 – Qs. 27, 58, 55, 73 & 22

CWP 4850/2017 – Qs. 22, 27, 55 & 58

CWP 6220/2017 – Qs. 22, 58, 68 & 55

CWP 2931/2017 – Qs. 86, 27, 22, 58, 68 & 55

CWP 2939/2017 – Qs. 86, 27, 22, 58, 68 & 55

CWP 3157/2017 – Qs. 86, 27, 22, 58, 68 & 55

CWP 3244/2017 – Qs. 86, 27, 22, 58, 68 & 55

CWP 3366/2017 – Qs. 86, 27, 22, 58, 68 & 55

CWP 3367/2017 – Qs. 86, 27, 22, 58, 68 & 55

CWP 3334/2017 – Qs. 22, 58, 55 & 68

CWP 3166/2017 – Qs. 27 & 58

5. It is thus seen that the impugned questions number Eleven (11) in all. These happen to be Question numbers 18, 22, 27, 55, 58, 65, 68, 71, 86, 91 and 100 of the aforesaid Questionnaire Booklet. But before proceeding further, it would be appropriate first to take note of the various grievances of the writ petitioners vis-a-vis the Final Revised Answer Key in order to de