Hyderabad: The Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC) has filed an appeal before the High Court challenging the interim order of a single judge bench that had halted the issuance of appointment letters to successful candidates in Group-1 examinations, held for filing 563 posts.

The single judge, on April 16, while dealing with a batch of petitions complaining about the evaluation of Mains exam answer sheets, directed the TGSPSC to not issue appointment letters until further orders, but allowed the certificate verification process to continue.

The certificate verification was completed on April 22, and TGPSC’s additional secretary R. Sumathi filed the appeal before the High Court challenging the single judge`s order. She submitted that the orders had put in jeopardy the recruitment process and affected scores of candidates who have put in hard work and were on the verge of securing employment. The restriction would cause undue delay in filling critical administrative posts across departments. She claimed that the balance of convenience was in favour of the TGSPSC .

Highlighting its adherence to standard practices, the TGPSC emphasised that evaluation of answer papers was conducted transparently, following guidelines comparable to those used by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The answer scripts were evaluated by qualified subject experts, including specialists proficient in Telugu, English, and Urdu. The commission stressed that to maintain integrity and prevent undue influence, the identity of evaluators was kept confidential.

In a press note dated March 13, the commission had disclosed the number of evaluators for each subject and paper, reinforcing its commitment to transparency. It reiterated that no discrepancy occurred during the evaluation process and that the claims raised by the petitioners were speculative and intended to cast unwarranted doubts over a fair selection process.