Candidates must report grievances during exams; failure to do so may bar post-exam relief, establishing that immediate protests are necessary for claims of technical errors.

JUDGMENT :

J.J. Munir, J.

1. This judgment will dispose of Writ-A No.10952 of 2024, along with connected Writ-A Nos. 11207 of 2024, 11692 of 2024, 15347 of 2024 and 15367 of 2024, which involve common questions of fact and law, except some individual features on facts, which will be noticed in the course of this judgment.

2. Writ-A No.10952 of 2024 has been heard as the leading case and the facts common to all matters are noticed from the said writ petition. Of course, the individual features of each case will be briefly noticed.

3. The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission issued an advertisement dated 19.09.2023, bearing No. A-5/E-1/2023, which shall hereinafter be referred to as 'the advertisement', inviting applications for selection and appointment to the post of Additional Private Secretary in the U.P. Secretariat, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (for short, 'the Commission') and the Board of Revenue, U.P. The last date for submission of online applications was 19.10.2023. According to the advertisement, the number of vacancies was 328, which could be increased or decreased, depending upon the circumstances and requirement. The examination was provided to be held in three stages. In the first stage was a written examination, carrying 150 marks. The second stage comprised a Shorthand (Hindi) Test worth 75 marks. This was followed by a Computer Typing Test in Hindi worth 25 marks as a part of the second stage. In the third stage was a Computer Practical Examination, carrying 50 marks. It was provided that after qualifying the written test, the candidates would appear in the Shorthand and Computer Typing Test. Those who qualified the second stage would appear in the third and the final stage of the examination as aforesaid. The total marks, on the basis whereof selections were to be held, were a figure of 300. The facts mentioned so far are common to all the writ petitions.

4. This takes us to the facts of the petitioner's case in the leading petition.

5. The petitioner is the holder of a B.Tech. Degree in Computer Science with knowledge of Shorthand and Typing. He was eligible to apply for the post of Additional Private Secretary. He did so online on 04.10.2023 in the Unreserved Category. The petitioner's application was found in order and complete. Accordingly, a One Time Registration (OTR) No. 632331071451 was allotted to him. Next, he was issued with an Admit Card for sitting the written examination. He was assigned Roll No. 076174. Upon receipt of the Admit Card, the petitioner appeared in the Written Examination (Stage-01) held on 07.01.2024 at the Suresh Devi Hemchandra Tyagi Sarswati Vidya Mandir Inter College, Meerut from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. The declaration of result saw the petitioner successful in Stage-01 of the Examination.

6. The petitioner asserts that he tallied his Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) Sheet with the Answer Key and the assessment being objective, he says that he would have earned 112 out of 150 marks. The petitioner moved on to the Second Stage of the selection process and was issued with an Admit Card, enabling him to write his Shorthand Test, followed by the Hindi Typing Test. The Second Stage of selection comprising the Shorthand and the Hindi Typing Test was held on 11.07.2024 in the post lunch hours from 2.00 to 5.30 p.m. at the Government Industrial Training Institute, Lucknow, where the petitioner appeared. According to him, the proficiency criterion for the Shorthand Test was 80 words per minute during