HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE ABHINAND KUMAR SHAVILI AND HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NAMAVARAPU RAJESHWAR RAO WRIT APPEAL NOs.1089, 1098, 1099, 1105, 1106, 1107, 1116, 1119 and 1137 OF 2023 COMMON JUDGMENT: (Per Hon’ble Sri Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili)

All these Writ Appeals are being disposed of by way of this common judgment, as the issue raised in all these Writ Appeals is one and the same.

2. Writ Appeal Nos.1089, 1098, 1099, 1105, 1106 and 1116 of 2023 are filed by the State of Telangana and Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board, Hyderabad, aggrieved by the orders passed in W.P.No.18748 of 2023 and batch dt.09.10.2023, and Writ Appeal Nos.1107, 1119 and 1137 of 2023 are filed by the writ petitioners contending that some more questions were to be deleted from the scheme of examination on the ground that the questions were capable of yielding to multiple answers and there is no correct answer being provided to certain questions.

3. Heard learned Government Pleader for Services-I and Sri K. Ramakanth Reddy, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board, Hyderabad, Sri G.Vidyasagar, learned Senior Counsel representing Sri Sai Prasen Gundavaram, learned counsel appearing for the appellants in Writ Appeal Nos.1107 and 1119 of 2023 and Ms. Vladimeer Khatoon, learned counsel for the appellants in Writ Appeal No.1137 of 2023 and Sri N.S.Arjun Kumar and Sri Ramesh Chilla, learned counsel for the respondents in the Writ Appeals filed by the State.

4. It has been contended by the appellants-State as well as Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board, Hyderabad, that they have issued a notification to fill up Stipendiary Cadet Trainee Police Constable in Civil and other categories on 30.04.2023. In all, 15,644 posts were notified and the selection is comprised of preliminary test followed up physical efficiency test and final examination, and the appellants’ Board has conducted the final examination on 30.04.2023 and the final written examination is consisting of objective type questions having four multiple options of answers and a candidate has to mark only the nearest appropriate answer to any of the question. The Appellant Board has published the preliminary key on 22.05.2023 and invited objections to the questions which appeared in the final examination. Several candidates have filed their objections with regard to correctness of questions and also to the correctness of preliminary key and the Appellant Board has referred all the objections to an Expert Committee consisting of body of academicians and after obtaining their opinion, it has published the final key on 30.05.2023. The respondents candidates who have appeared for the final examination, have filed Writ Petition No.18748 of 2023 and batch of cases before this Court challenging the correctness of questions as well as answers provided to the questions and the learned Single Judge of this Court has partly allowed the Writ Petitions by directing to delete question Nos.57, 122, 130, and 144 of Booklet ‘C’ and directed the Appellant Board to re-do the exercise by deleting the marks awarded to the candidates afresh, without appreciating any of the contentions raised by the Appellant Board.

5. Learned counsel for the Appellant Board has contended that in para No.15 of the judgment, the learned Single Judge has come to the conclusion that the courts cannot go into the correctness or otherwise of the answers in the final key to the questions prepared by the Board as the final key was published only after the Expert Body/Committee has looked into the objections received from the candidates. When the learned Single Judge has come to such a conclusion, the learned Single Judge could not have deleted four questions from the scheme of examination and could not have directed the Appellant Board to re-do the exercise afresh by deleting the four questions which runs contrary to the finding recorded by the learned Single Judge in the preceding paragraph